Ever Lovely Suicide
by ILikeWaffles96
Summary: I think things like this are just meant to happen to me. Being betrayed is just in the blood like everything else. It's just... I didn't expect to lose everything so quickly. So painfully. Sasuoc
1. Prolouge, New Begginings

_-Hate goodbyes, make mental note to avoid them.-_

"Akari," my mother mused as she paused in her ministrations. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Hai. This is exactly what I want to do."

Again, she raised the scissors to my hair and clipped off bit by bit. I flinched the first time, watching the raven strands fall lifelessly to the floor. I sighed, though, once she was done. Looking in the mirror, I nodded. Perfect, then.

I looked just like a guy. I Fidgeted under my father's gaze until he nodded, then sighed and looked to my bag on the floor. I glanced down at myself, frowning. I could see the bandages still. Bindings had been wrapped tightly across my chest, making my chest flat as possible.

Said wrappings of bandages extended from my shirt to my abdomen, and from my shoulders to wrap down my arms to my wrists and them my palm.

As for my clothes? I wore black ninja sandals. The pants were rather baggy, wrapped down with bindings mid-calf to my ankle. A tight, black, sleeveless shirt went under a larger, baggier, white sleeveless shirt.

Pleased with my guy-impersonating appearance, I stared at myself in the mirror. I looked like the pictures of father as a kid. Not that I was exactly a kid, I was a teen, but that didn't matter.

I felt her arms wrap around me before I saw them, and I turned white eyes look at my mother. She was close to tears.

"Aka-Kyo, you be careful. And you write us at least once a week. Tai, your father's hawk remember?, will be taking and returning them. Fat bird needs the exercise…." she continued rambling, tears flowing now as she clutched my shoulders and I nodded sadly.

My father came up to me too, chuckling and ruffling my hair.

"Do you remember that name I gave you?" I nodded in response, listening to him repeat what he'd been repeating for weeks.

When they were, finally, done, I stuffed my hands in my pockets and slipped the bag over my shoulder. I gave them a shy, hesitant smile, hugging them both once more.

"Okaa-chan, Otou-chan…" I muttered, pulling away.

It was night, as risking leaving in the daylight was a bad idea. Both smiled, one with green eyes, the other with white. One with black hair, the other with light brunette. Opposites. I brushed a tear from my own eye, turning away from them. Couldn't look back then. I wouldn't want to leave.

"Goodbye."

_-Note to self, find better place to sleep.-_

The ground had been uncomfortable, hard, and-well, dirty.

Grimacing, I made my way to the river and dunked only my head under, gasping from the cold when I resurfaced. Frowning, I shook my hair out, grinning as I shouldered my bag again. Walking might take longer, but I couldn't run in the trees like a ninja.

Yet. The thought made my grin widen and I went from a walk to a run. I had been, physically, training myself as best I could in the past few weeks. I had not gotten far. I did, to my pride, manage to run for quite some time until eating and then starting on my way again. The Hidden Village in the Leaf was days away still when I found myself too tired to keep going.

I sighed, plopping down against a tree and closing my eyes. It was an easy slumber, no dreams, and I awoke refreshed and energized. My meal was quick and I was off as soon as I could be. This time, I didn't stop when my legs refused to keep running. I walked at a mild pace through the trees, eyeing my map tiredly constantly.

I did, though, stop when I heard voices coming closer. On instinct, I hid behind a tree, peering at the small group walking through. There was a man with silver hair, a girl with pink hair, a blond, and a raven haired boy… Actually, his hair reminded me of a duck.

I watched the tense-looking group for a long time-they were setting up camp-before making my way over to the river. I actually dunked my head in the water again before planning to sleep. Key word; Planning.

Instead, I stood, turned around, and found myself face-to-face with one of the teens from the clearing. In my own haste to remove myself from the area, I nearly fell into the water.

I gave him a look over, taking a deep breath. Raven-black hair, spiked up in the back, black outfit… Leaf headband. I froze, staring curiously at the offending item. I tilted my head to the side, praying that he couldn't see me well enough to recognize me later.

"Are you a stalker?" was my first question. By the cold glare, and scoff, that was a no. I nodded, standing and brushing myself off. "If you're here to, ah," I looked away awkwardly, "bathe, I'll just go."

Attempting to walk past him was a bad idea, because before I had made it anywhere near my bag, he had my arm in a hand, onyx eyes staring-glaring-at me. I frowned, tugging against his hold, and it tightened in response.

"Who are you?"

"Mm… Rai, Tysukyomi." I responded cheekily, tugging my arm again. He scowled, releasing me to retrieve my bag. "If your not jumping in the river, why are you here?"

"You were watching us." He stated, cold, narrowed eyes following my every move.

Actually, the teen scared me half to death. If only because his eyes held tales of hatred, revenge, death and… and loneliness. I shivered when his gaze lingered on me, brows furrowed, before glancing off behind me.

"Your really nosy, y'know?"

"Hn."

"Don't do that."

"Hn."

"Please?" I asked, smiling at him. He didn't move.

"Hn."

"It's annoying." I deadpanned, shaking my head.

"Hn."

"… It's…" I faltered, wrinkling my nose at him "Unbecoming."

"Hn."

"Can't you form another word?"

"Aa."

"Hn." the noise sounded odd from me, oddly high. He raised a brow.

"Hn."

"Aa."

"Hn."

I twitched, punching the bridge of my nose. "At least I can form coherent words."

"Your not worth the words."

"N-Nani!" I turned to face him, arms crossed under my chest in aggravation. "But you just-"

"_Hn."_

I frowned, lifting my nose in the air. "Fine. Grumpy."

If I didn't know better, I'd say he was amused. I turned around, stalking into the trees again. When I looked back, he was gone. "Obviously didn't see me as a threat or anything. I would've liked the help getting there, though…"

_-Do not sleep in trees. Period. At all.-_

"Damnit!" I snarled, hitting the ground with a satisfying 'thump'.

I scowled at the leaves and dirt and grass. Stumbling to my feet, I gave a huff of annoyance and grumbled to myself before eating and starting on my way.

Again.

_-My first thoughts of the Leaf Village: Perfect.-_

It looked… Amazing. I couldn't help but gawk at the village gates before me. This was unlike anything I'd ever seen before. There were people on the other side, smiling, chatting, grinning. I couldn't help but stare even as I approached the entrance to the Leaf, marveling at what I could see.

"State your business." a bored voice ordered, and I blinked before turning my head to see a silver haired man-headband covering one eye-peering up at me.

"I don't really have any business, actually. Just visiting someone." I replied easily, turning to face him.

I must've looked pretty bad, actually. I ran a hand through my too-short-for-a-girl hair, grinning. I could feel some of the dirt in there, a leaf resting by my temple. My clothes-baggy and boyish as well-were dirty and ripped. I would need to buy new ones.

I blinked a few times before the man stopped examining me. Instead of telling me to piss off, he merely looked to the side, and sighed. I figured the man beside him was his replacement for the moment.

"Hey, Kakashi, who's the kid?"

I scowled, damn ready to tell him I was not a kid, but something on their faces told me not to. A silent exchange, then.

"Good question."

"Rai, Tsukyomi." I fidgeted under their even stares, shoving my hands in my pockets childishly. "I'm here to find someone by the name of Gai." Both grimaced, I think, before even looking at me. "But first, I would like to see the Hokage."

-New thoughts on the Leaf Village: Creepy, weird, and crazy.-

I couldn't help but twitch. Here I was, in the Hokage's office, staring at a group of Genin and a man. One of the Genin looked almost like a younger him. Both clad in tight, green suits, with a bowl cut.

"Oh, Kami-sama." I squeaked, shaking my head. Almost as if I'd yelled 'ninja aren't real' everyone's eyes snapped toward me. Suddenly feeling immensely uncomfortable, I took a wary step toward the door. I promptly hit Kakashi's leg.

"I shouldn't have barged in. I'm sorry, I was just in a hurry and-" I noted that the green-clad man had started a tournament of rock paper scissors with my escort.

"It's fine," the old Hokage dismissed with a chuckle, "We were done."

"Oh," I sagged with visible relief.

"What did you need?"

"Oh!" I nodded, stepping forward and bowing. "Right. Arigotou." I hesitated, biting my lip. "You received a hawk two days ago, if I'm correct?" A nod. "I sent that. Well, my father of course assisted me with that as I didn't have a hawk, and I wasn't sure what to right-Gomen, I'm rambling. I was just wondering if you had understood and… If…Ano…"

My voice slowly got quieter and quieter as I came to realize nobody had left and everybody was staring again. Expect the brown haired one. The boy. He looked… bored? I looked back up as the Hokage chuckled, and a set of keys dropped onto the desk. Grinning, I took them between my fingers.

"Where requested?"

"As to your father's wishes."

I relaxed immediately, before looking tentatively back up at him again. This, of course, would be the harder part. He knew who I was, and that was the scary part. I sucked in a breath, straightening up to smile at him.

"Ano… Arigotou, for everything already, but I need help."

"Help?" He looked immensely amused.

"Hai." I nodded once, ignoring the now more curious stares. "I'm looking for someone that goes by the name of Gai. My father told me there was only one man of that name in this village, but I'd like help in finding-"

I cut off with a squeak, finding that the tall, green-clad man had moved closer and was giving me a curious, childlike look. Immediately, he gave me a blinding grin and a thumbs up. Uniquely bothered, I raised a cautious brow at his antics.

"I," he announced cheerily, "Am Maito Gai!"

Immediately, I wanted nothing more than to run away. Instead, I gave the Hokage a questioning look, to which he nodded to confirm my suspicions. Setting my face into a passive look, I dropped to my knees and put my forehead to the floor.

"Please take me as a student!"

"EEEEH!"

_-Have learned to never trust first thoughts based on appearances.-_

_-Author's Note, for the cold hard facts-_

I decided to rewrite this. The whole. Story.  
>Why?<p>

Akari was a MS. D-= Unacceptable. So, to avenge her, I chose to change everything. Ah, ah. Same personality for Akari-chan~ though! I did, however, change her looks. Why? They were unrealistic.  
>As for her demon...-evil grin- you'll have to read on for that juicy information.<p> 


	2. Inside Jokes

_-Everyone reacts as if I'm crazy for wanting tutelage under Gai-sensei. He accepted.-_

I think everyone had been surprised when I asked for Gai to be my sensei. Of course, he looked weird. And according to Tenten, he was odd… And his pupil looked creepily like him… So, maybe I should've asked my father about him, then.

"How are you going to train her as well as us, if she isn't on our team?"

I had learned early on that Neji Hyuuga was not an extremely nice person. Not extremely nice, and blunt. I fidgeted, tugging at my bandaged hands. I was sitting in on them, Team Gai, at the training grounds. I watched quietly as Gai grinned, laughing.

"I train Lee at night as well, she can come then. Besides," he gave a signature thumbs up. "She can still learn with the rest of you!"

I didn't really do much other than watch them train, sparring and practicing jutsu. Neji was amazing with his chakra, Tenten with weapons, Lee with Taijutsu. I frowned, eyes flickering over their forms easily. I looked away from them finally, eyes settling on Lee.

He couldn't use chakra, so he didn't. My father had told me Gai was amazing with Taijutsu, which explained Lee's affinity with it. If I was going to go through with this, I needed to start there. I stood, walking over to Lee cautiously. He had just finished sparring with Neji a while ago, and he had a bruise under his eye.

"Lee?"

"Oh-Kyo!" He grinned cheerful as ever. "Did you need something?"

"I…" I frowned, lifting my gaze to meet his. "I was wondering if you would train with me, since Gai seems occupied with Neji and Tenten."

"Of course!" He gave the same grin as Gai, saying something about how I radiated youth, before beginning. "Have you had any previous training?"

I raised a brow, as if it was a stupid question-only because the answer was obvious. "No."

He raised his rather large brows and smiled. "Then lets get started!"

_-Note to self; Do not tell Lee and Gai-sensei to 'refrain from taking it easy on me'.-_

Groaning, I flopped down on my bed. No use in moving. Not that I could. I still had the weights on my ankles and wrists from where they had told me to keep them. As it was my first training session with them, my muscles aches and I felt like a pound of lead.

Despite the fact that it was midnight, and I was going to have to get up in a few hours, I was excited for tomorrow. My father would've been proud of me for trying, at least. I sighed, closing my eyes. I managed a good hour's worth of sleep like that until I actually drug myself under the covers and slept.

_-People in Konoha are too friendly. They will not leave you alone, and will often question me about the weights and my whereabouts. Note: think up better lies.-_

I had just finished yet another training session with Team Gai, and I flopped uselessly onto the ground. A good, solid three months of this so far and I was already 'far ahead of what was normal' according to my new friend and sensei.

I had stopped being tired from the physical exertion of the weights. And we had brought more weight on as time passed. I had excelled exceptionally well in Taijutsi, really. Though, I would never be able to open the Gates, and my speed would only ever barely rival Lee's, I was satisfied.

Speaking of Lee, he was grinning over me, offering a hand to help me up. I accepted, grinning at him. Neji, as always, eyed us from just off to the side, frowning. I had just finished sparring with the green-clad ninja, actually, and he had been watching the whole time.

"Neji," I scowled at him with a roll of my eyes, "Are you ever going to stop being such a creep and just join us?"

"You make it sound like your offering me into a cult." He said blankly, heading past us. I stuck my tongue out as his back, turning my head away with a huff. "I saw that."

"Neji Hyuuga, is that amusement I hear in your voice?"

He was gone before I could say anything else, and I found a smile creeping onto my face. I sighed turning to grin at the green-clad man and teen before me. Gai grinned back, and Lee gave a curious look to something behind me before turning his attention over to me.

"Are you still joining us for training tonight?"

"I always do, Lee."

"Yosh! The spirit of youth will shine even brighter tonight!"

"Lee! How inspiring!"

I shook my head, sighing. They were like that constantly, really. I waved a goodbye to them before slipping off to another training ground. Why? This one was more secluded, and besides, nobody tended to train there anyways. I enjoyed training alone. The seclusion was well welcomed after spending so much time with Team Gai.

The wooden dummy in front of me had suffered a brutal death, missing chunks, splintered and more or less destroyed. I sighed, pulling my fist away from it and then stretching. For a moment, I prodded one of the weights on my wrist, before shrugging and turning to post.

We had upped to weights today, and they were actually taking their toll. I pulled back, slamming a fist into the wood before using the other hand to balance myself and lashing out with one leg. I continued like this, kick, hit, draw a kunai, attack, repeat. I paused when my legs began to hurt, rubbing at the spot with a scowl and then eyeing those weights as well.

"They must've upped them more than I thought." I mused, prodding one again before returning to the post.

I stopped mid swing of the leg when I heard footsteps behind me. For a second, I willed them to go away and turned when I realized they had stopped.

"Kakashi-sensei, who's that?" A pinkette with shining emerald eyes, confused, but nice looking.

"Oi, what're you doing here?" A blond with excitable blue eyes, leaning toward me with a hand on his hip.

"He's training, obviously, Dobe." This one I recognized. Though, he was much more handsome in the daylight.

I had seen all of them around before, and briefly registered the fact that, despite this, I only knew what rumors had led me to believe. I had never really taken into account that hearsay was true, leaving me skeptical on their whereabouts.

"Gomen, I didn't think anyone would be here." I sighed, straightening and smiling.

"Ah, Kyo-kun." Kakashi sent me what I assumed was a smile, and I returned it. We'd run into each other quite a bit since our first encounter on my first day in Konoha. "These are my students."

"Haruno Sakura!" The girl exclaimed happily, and I returned the smile a bit more timidly.

"Uzumaki Naruto! I'm going to be the next Hokage!" The blond this time, jerking a thumb towards himself.

The last one looked too bored to bother introducing himself, but he needn't bother. I didn't even spare him a glance, excusing myself to mauling the post. I faintly heard them start training and, when my body refused to keep going, I sat down against the ruined post and watched.

I learned things about each of them, quickly.

Sakura was perky, bubbly even, and friendly. She harbored an oddly large, unrequited crush on Sasuke. Along with more than half of Konoha's female population. And she had a blatant dislike for Naruto.

Naruto was excitable, despite himself, hyperactive, loud, and stronger than one would think at first look. He had an-again-unrequited crush on Sakura. And seemed to have a mutual dislike for the Uchiha.

And Sasuke. Well, there wasn't much to him in my eyes. He was angry, liked to keep to himself, tended to be on the emotionless side, and strong. Very strong. He seemed to dislike just about everybody.

Nodding to myself, I watched as the two boys sparred. In the end, to my surprise, Sasuke won. I frowned at this, watching the blond sulk to himself. Sakura didn't seem to be expecting to do much other than sit there, really, cheering for the raven haired teen. Frowning, I grunted and stood, brushing myself off.

"Kakashi, would you mind if I sparred Sakura?"

"Sure," he shrugged carelessly. The girl, it seemed, searched for an excuse.

"B-but-"

"I only know Taijutsu, and only started training a few months ago. We should be about on the same level." She blanched, finding no reason to decline, looking almost offended, and instead gave a determined nod of the head.

A smirk edged its way onto my face and I waited patiently for her to do something besides stand there. Well, she had a kunai drawn but that wasn't much an improvement. So, instead, I barreled toward her myself. Ducking away from the strike of a kunai, I got behind her and managed a swift kick to the back. She stumbled, landing on her knees.

Her hair was a definite disadvantage, here. Showing not the lest speck of hesitation, she turned and knocked me off my feet. The blow had been relatively quick, but not very hard. Furrowing my brows, I leapt to my feet and delivered a quick punch to her gut. In the same instance, she managed to skim my cheek with a kunai.

I frowned, raising a brow, when she took the distraction as an invitation to duck into the cover of the trees.

"Is she really that big a coward?" I muttered, shaking my head before slipping in after her.

I was left surprised when she rushed back into the clearing before I could nail her position. Even more surprised when I reentered the clearing to find everyone gone. Not only was everyone gone, but darkness had shrouded the area. Sakura petals obscured my vision before something sent me barreling into the ground on my back. I grimaced when I realized that it was Sakura, pinning me to the ground with a kunai in hand.

I did the one thing I could think to do at that moment. I kneed her in the stomach, pushed her backwards and off of me before rolling myself into a crouch seconds after. Still somewhat disoriented, I furrowed my brows and glanced back around. It must've been a Genjutsu.

"Didn't expect you to have that one up your sleeve…" I grumbled, rubbing the back of my neck anxiously.

I pushed myself to my feet with a grunt, wrinkling my nose at the other girl. Not that it was her I would be biting my thumb at, just the fact that she had surprised me. I drew a kunai quickly, making efficient use of it when it sailed centimeters from her cheek as a distraction. I took that as incentive to draw another kunai and skim it over her skin just enough to draw blood.

Something in me hesitated, causing me to rear back just in time to avoid her. She, on the other hand, didn't hesitate in nailing me in the face. If she had any real strength behind the hit, it probably would've caused a good deal of pain. Instead, it would leave a muted bruise. Wincing, I lashed out and gripped her arm, using my body weight and the strength I had to yank her around and pushed her forward.

Disoriented, she stumbled, unsuspecting to the kick landing on her back. This time, the only thing that was preventing her hitting the ground was instinct. Her hands caught her and she rolled over quickly, giving me the time to straddle her with a kunai to her neck. I barely let it graze the skin, nowhere near enough to break the skin.

She fought back, kunai whipping into existence in time to snip past my cheek. Unexpecting, I flinched, recovering quickly enough as she rolled us over to slam my knee into her side, sending me on top again. This time, I let the kunai press gently on her skin, watching as her emerald eyes worked with the cogs inside her head to see an end to the situation.

I held the position a second before smiling. Pushing myself backward into a standing position, I held out a hand. "You were amazing."

She looked ready to retort, but instead took my hand and let me haul her to her feet. I heard a 'tch' behind us and I whipped around to frown at the 'aloof' teen. I frowned at him, while Sakura grinned and gave him her best 'cutesy' smile.

"Did you see that Sasuke-kun!" and similar questions strung from her lips before he actually gave a reply.

"Hn." (I twitched. "That's not even a word.") "That was pathetic."

"Pathetic?" I frowned, watching as the pinkette visibly deflated. "I don't think it was anywhere near pathetic."

"An academy student could've beat either one of you." Ouch. That hurt.

"Considering I didn't attend the academy, I'd say it was pretty good on my part." I huffed, crossing my arms. "Besides, at least I'm not some prick with a ten foot pole up his ass."

Scowling, Sasuke straightened to glare at me as if asking 'what did you say?' with his body language.

"If I weren't at such an obvious disadvantage, I'd kick your ass, Uchiha."

I swear, he growled. Naruto, just to my right, started guffawing, to his credit trying to hold it back. "Hn. Whatever."

I'd never made such obvious enemies with someone so quickly. But he was just so… so… "Infuriating."

"What?" That was Sakura, frowning; pouting, at me.

"He's infuriating. And aggravating. And, well, I could go on for hours." I grumbled, turning away from him.

The pinkette seemed to take offense for him even as I caught his eyes narrowing at me. I couldn't help buy wonder why he didn't lash out, it would've been so impossibly simple.

But no, instead he glowered at me and scoffed with another 'hn' before I furrowed my brows at his back. Sasuke Uchiha had peaked my interest. Apparently, Kakashi had caught the look in my eyes by the way he sauntered over from giving Sakura tips and gave me a downward glance.

"Curioustiy killed the cat."

"I'm not a cat, though. If anything," I grinned at the inside joke I presented to myself. "I'm a wolf."

_-Author's Note, for the cold hard facts-_

LovableAmethyst129;; Thank you, sorry for the lack of update. Had a lapse of muse...


	3. Wolf

_-Sasuke Uchiha; Hard to follow, notices too much, will throw kunai at face, will punch in gut, will physically attack after being found too many times in a row, will win.-_

Other than my failures at getting any more respect from Sasuke, I was progressing well enough. I had begun attending Team 7 practices regularly. Sometimes, I would just observe. Other times, I might spar a little. Though, I only ever won against Sakura. I was even having a bit of help from Kakashi with jutsu.

The Chuunin Exams were upcoming, and I was suddenly contemplating how to get in myself. I wouldn't just hop in with another team, but I doubted my position on going in alone would be shared with the Hokage… Or anyone else, for that matter.

Glaring, I threw another three shuriken into the wooden post ahead of me, watching as it cause two other shuriken to spiral out of the wood with ease. I managed a grimace at the splintered wood, before sighing and plopping down on the ground irritably.

"Kyo-kun!" My head automatically snapped to the side to glare at the interrupter-who happened to be Lee. I relaxed, waving him over happily. "You didn't show up to training-Gai-sensei said I should find you."

"Gomen, I should have told you. I'm just…" I furrowed my brows shaking my head in explanation.

"Since you missed training," he declared suddenly, "You need to sharpen your skills with a spar!"

Weary, I tried to refuse, but found that wasn't working when a foot came flying at my head. I only barely managed to dodge the incoming appendage and twist into a crouch to scowl at him. Before I could protest again, I had to catch another foot toward me. I growled, twisting the black haired boy's leg until he had to move into my range.

I took the advantage as a chance to tackle him and elbow him in the ribs. Lee grinned, easily maneuvering himself on top. In a second, I had slammed my head into his chest, effectively rolling him off of me. Surprised, the older boy flipped himself onto his feet just as I stumbled to my own.

Raven hair blocking my eyes, I sent him a harsh glare, feeling my eyes heat up in anger. "That's the spirit! Let your youth-"

Before he could finish, I threw a punch that-to my surprise-nailed him in the jaw. In truth, I was expecting him to dodge, but the bruise developing on his jaw proved otherwise. Still, though, he was smiling. I was not. I stood straight, figuring he would leave me be, when I heard him coming toward me again. I was hardly fast enough to retaliate, but I did manage to throw myself to the side.

He still clipped my side, sending me rolling to the ground. Growling, I lifted myself onto my hands and knees, pushing myself back onto my heels. I found him, still grinning, in a defensive position. I seriously felt my eye twitch. I should've known Lee wouldn't accept my not wanting to spar so easily.

I grunted in annoyance, pushing myself to my feet and cracking my knuckles before slipping out two senbon-one of my favorites.

Dashing forward, I twisted under a well-aimed fist and just barely past a fast kick to lightly send one of my senbon into his side, the other skimming his cheek. The last was avoided like cake, a foot away from it's target. I cursed, folding my arms in front of me in an 'x' in an attempt to block an unavoidable kick.

Despite the attempt, I was sent skidding with a hiss. As quickly as I could, I threw myself forward so that a kick distracted his next attempt to get me off my feet.

I gave a literal snarl before twisting around, still on my hands, and throwing myself into a tree to get away from him. I landed on my feet on the trunk, legs shaking slightly as my chakra control needed quite a bit of work.

"Holy-" I was cut off by the tree bark splintering from a kick as I rolled to the ground with wide eyes. It took me a split second to tackle Lee and sent us both flailing into the wood with a chorus of yelps and curses. We landed in a heap at the bottom, me flopping uselessly to the ground beside him with a hand on my face. Now that we had stopped, and I was panting, I could feel the pain in my face. I made note to kill Lee.

In the end, I really did the deserve the black eye. However accidental.

_-Avoid running into Uchiha outside of training. He's very contemplative, and mean. Very, very mean. Also; avoid subject of family.-_

It had only been recently that I'd found out about the Uchiha Massacre. From Kakashi. It had been during training when I said something small to Sasuke, and instead of our usual scuffle, it led to a full out fight. I found myself sore and bruised.

Which was why I was trying to slowly retreat from the area when I saw aforementioned Uchiha 'lounging', read; looking mysterious and serious, in an abandoned training ground. He had obviously just gotten done with training if the discarded weapons and scratches were any evidence.

I gave up on sneaking once I'd snapped a twig and turned course to plop down in front of the boy. He immediately resumed glaring. I raised my hands in the air, palms forward.

"I come in peace?" I joked, raising a brow.

"I don't want your pity." was his sharp, annoyed answer. Mine was a scowl, then. "I'll kill him someday."

I flinched a little at that, if only because he was Sasuke Uchiha. If only because I was worried that he would, one day, actually kill his brother.

Now, I didn't know Itachi, but that seemed traumatizing no matter how it was put.

"I… I don't pity you, Uchiha." I scoffed, rolling my eyes casually. Well, casual for us. "In fact, you're pretty lucky. You have what you have now, ne?"

I didn't receive much more than a muted glare so I continued. "I mean… All these people caring about you, that's…" I closed my eyes, smiling as the wind danced around us playfully. "A blessing."

"It's annoying." he replied stubbornly, almost like a child.

I cast him a glance with a shrug. "Okay, so maybe they can be annoying. But still, at least they're there."

"Hn."

"That's still not a word."  
>"Hn."<p>

"…"  
>"…"<p>

Glaring contest. I blinked when he twitched.

"Damn."

In truth, I didn't mind Sasuke so much. Annoying, stuck up, irritable, irritating, infuriating, 'superior', undeniably good-looking, yes he was all of those things. But maybe just a little misunderstood. Kind of reminded me of a child, actually.

"Well, up for some training?"

Wordless, he joined me. It was barely training anymore. The only thing getting to me was the weights, we had increased those quite bit and I was hardly standing after another half hour of training. Apparently, he noticed it too.

"You need to stop." he said suddenly. I sighed, letting my hands drop their handsigns to turn and roll me eyes with an 'I'm fine'. "You're going to collapse, baka."

"H-hey!"

This time, I whipped fully around, enough for the weights to pull me unceremoniously to the ground. Bad thing? I had toppled down on Sasuke. Now, had I not been pretending to be a guy, this couldn't been more awkward. Not that it could get much more awkward.

I rubbed my head, one eye opened down at the raven haired teen. He was scowling, as if to say 'I told you so', even as my face went red. I cursed, scrambling backward and stumbling to my feet. Of course, I required the aid of a tree.

I was surprised he hadn't taunted me, called me a dumbass. Actually, he was still on the ground, brows furrowed as if in confusion. His eyes shot up, as if realizing something before Naruto came barreling over and tripped over Sasuke in an indemnifying manner.

I couldn't help be feel relieved.

"Teme!"  
>"Dobe."<br>"Teme!"  
>"Dumbass."<p>

I groaned, shaking my head. Getting ragged on by the Uchiha was better than listening to their arguments. They only ever went in circles. I would've stopped them had the shaking of my limbs not registered to me. I, finally, opened my mouth to speak and sighed. I regretted training so much lately, Sasuke was right, it was finally taking it's toll.

"Oi, bakas, could you… Help me?" I muttered stubbornly, noting both teens exchange a glance before Naruto pranced over with a grin and slung an arm over my shoulder. I returned the gesture, not noticed as the raven haired male took my other side until he actually touched me.

"O-oh. Arigouto."

Somehow, it was fitting, having the two help me stagger home for another night. It didn't matter, I would be awake in the early, early hours of the morning again anyway. But for the moment, I would enjoy the companionship of the family I was missing.

Just… for the moment.

_-Author's Note, for the cold hard facts-_


	4. So, I've been discovered

_-Naruto Uzumaki. Demon Holder.-_

I knew. I don't think he really knew I knew, though. Or, he just never acknowledged it. I knew that it was a secret, that I shouldn't even have had a hint at it. Everyone, I had learned, shunned him at a young age. I shouldn't have known, I didn't want to know.

But she told me.

_'Kyuubi.'_ the traitorous word repeated in my head like a mantra, the voice dark and cold._ 'Kyuubi.'_ it was almost calling out, and that worried me more than I could have thought._ 'Kyuubi.'_

She told me everything she knew, and she always had. Taught me. She hurt, too. Hurt me, hurt herself, we hurt people. I didn't like how often it happened, but sometimes it was impossible to stop it. Or... her. I flinched from the thoughts even as a cackle clicked through my ears. Inside my head, always inside my head.

Briefly, I glanced over at the blonde to find him grinning and chatting animatedly with his team about the Chunnin Exams. I found myself both fearful of him, and fond. I had to look away before he noticed me staring and shook my head with a sigh.

I stood slowly, brushing myself off and informing to trio-and only them, as Kakashi was as expertly late as usual-that I had training to go to. I wasn't a lie, but I had a half hour before I really needed to be there. I needed to get away from him.

The monster inside of him was making me uneasy, and I was beginning to develop a headache from the roars, taunts, and insane chuckles from inside my own mentality. I felt like I was going insane, sometimes.

When I did get there, it was to the sight of a somber Lee. Or, more somber than usual. I found myself suspicious, even as I walked in front of him. Noting silently that Tenten, Neji, and Gai-sensei were heading our way, I sat in front of my friend slowly.

"Lee?"

"Kyo-kun, where did you come from?" it was in that moment, that I lifted my defenses. "You just came out of nowhere-"

"Why does it matter, Lee?" I knew the words came out harsh, white eyes narrowed and slightly hidden by dull, black hair. Even he looked slightly surprised. "That..." I set my jaw in agitation, "That's in the past for me, I don't plan on going back."

I didn't tell him that anything worth going back there for was, I suspected, corrupted or dead.  
>Our conversation cut off there as his teammates arrives and my shoulders might've sagged in relief. Training was good, a distraction.<p>

"Ah, Kyo! You're early. That's good, I was hoping-" and here was where I mentally groaned "-I could watch you and Lee spar!"

I ignored him for a moment, he was ranting on about my perseverance, progress,etc, etc.  
>"You want me," I jabbed my thumb at myself. "To spar with Lee." I raised a brow at my sensei, who gave me a thumbs up.<p>

I was pretty sure Neji had come to the conclusion of me being an idiot, by the look I was receiving. I groaned, rubbing where my black eye had been. "Fine."

It started as it usually did, me mostly avoiding Lee. As usual as it was, something seemed off. A dark, untamed whisper slipping through the back of my thoughts. I frowned, throwing myself at the large eyebrowed boy with a grunt and attempting to knock his balance off.

I caught a glimpse of Neji from the corner of my eye, frowning, eyes watching carefully. It disappointed me to know he didn't even need use of his blood line to watch us. I scowled, picking up my pace despite the weights.  
>I continued to try forcing my way past his defenses until an opening presented itself and I landed a neat kick in his side, before throwing myself away from his retaliation and sending two kunai at him.<p>

I landed rather well on a tree, wavering slightly in my decision to wait for his move. In that moment, I wondered how far the fight would go.  
>He shot forward and I had to narrow my eyes to follow his movements, launching myself forward from the tree and twisting around to face him before skidding to a halt on the ground. I smirked, raising a brow at the green clad teen who had turned with a grin to face me.<p>

"You have gotten much better since our last spar!"  
>"That," I teased lightly, "Or you've just gotten slower."<p>

I was already moving when I spoke, and by the end I had thrown a punch. He dodged, lashing out as well. I bent backward, hands hitting the ground. Once his offending appendage was out of the way, I went into a handstand before flipping to my feet quickly.

I came at him again and he jumped, managed to slam me into the ground in the process. I found myself smiling slightly, eyes sliding down to the weights before curling forward and unlatching the ones from my wrists quickly, swiftly preventing the dirt from settling around me as well.

Thus keeping myself hidden, I watched for the shadow I knew would be approaching. When he did come forward, I was gone from my previous spot in a moment, only managing to land a fist on his jaw due to him unsuspecting.  
>I swerved easily when he got close, falling forward into a roll and managing to uppercut my friend. He hit the ground, leaving me wanting to grin-though I managed to stop myself.<p>

I lost my reason to grin when a green almost-blur came out of what seemed to be thin air and aimed a flurry of surprising attacks. Last second, I lifted my arms in an x before hastily, almost sloppily, attempting to block the majority of his punches and kicks. I was sent skidding backwards, white eyes wider than usual as I surveyed Lee.

He was grinning. Still. I darted forward, pushing myself, and lifting a leg before slamming my heel down. The loud crack resounded throughout the clearing and there was a slight dent and crack in the ground. I struggled for a second to intake breaths before looking around.

I didn't see him to any sides, and my only reaction was to look up. The slippery teme had jumped.

Scowling, I brushed myself off and launched myself into the air at him off a tree, catching him and gripping his ankle, twisting him around to face me. He surprised me again, this time by trying to duck down with a punch, and I pushed off of him to send myself higher, shooting off three senbon.

Seemingly having not noticed it coming, the weapon embedded itself in his arm, and he landed on the ground easily, freeing himself of the small, silver metal. I felt myself chuckle, giving a roll of my eyes as I landed. Obviously, I need to stop pulling my metaphorical punches.

I was left to steady myself and slide back into an offensive position. My eyes unconsciously narrowed and a frown met my lips when that whisper returned, louder than before.

The black haired, energetic Lee dashed forward and something went wrong. My vision blurred, my heart pounded in my ears, I froze. The sudden feel of a fist in my jaw, sending me flying backwards was what woke me up from my trance.

I didn't move though, worried the sensation might return. I already knew what it was, and took it as a sign to stop.

The sound of footsteps approaching warned me of the fact that Lee noticed I wasn't getting up. I threw myself to my feet, blinking a few times to steady my vision before facing my opponent again. Quitting wasn't an option, it would raise question.

"C'mon, Lee," I quipped, wiping a bit of blood from the corner of my mouth, "Can't you hit harder than that?"

The spar started back up quickly, a flurry of seemingly endless kicking and hitting, taking hits to deliver my own, avoiding potentially damaging assaults. I found myself panting quickly, the weights again taking their toll, even with only the ones on my ankles. I waiting, watching as the teen approached, running fast.

I stood stock still until he was barely a foot from myself, letting myself take most of the hit before throwing myself into a tackle, managing to push him back, and then finding myself on the ground at his feet. Giving a groan, I dropped my face into the dirt and exhaled slowly before rolling onto my back.

There was obviously no chance of winning the spar. If it were an actual fight, I was betting I would be dead.  
>"I take that hitting thing back." I muttered, squinting up at him. He offered me a hand and I laughed, accepting the help up.<p>

"Such a youthful fight." Gai-sensei sent up both the brightest grin I had ever seen, and I returned it with a small smile of my own. I would admit to growing fond of Team Gai, and the weird ways they came with.

I managed to suck in a breath, sitting back to watch them train for, more-or-less, the remainder of time. I let my eyes slide closed, listening carefully for anything around me. Seeing as nobody was near me, I furrowed my brows and listened inside instead of out.

"Nothing." I mused, opening my eyes with a troubled expression.

I was surprised to find another pair of pale eyes watching me. I immediately avoided his stare. Instead, I brushed myself off and wrinkled my nose.

That look was too calculating, too knowing. I did not like it. To get my mind off of it, I adjusted my weights on my wrists absently and stood up. I made my way-slowly, mind you-over to Gai with a small smile, watching as he gave some words of encouragement to Tenten and Lee.

"Gai-sensei?" I waited until his head turned to me. "I might be late to training tonight. I have..." I furrowed my brows and sighed. "Important business to attend to beforehand."

There was no objection, though a twinkle in his eyes warned me of something he had planned. Or his eyes were more shiny than usual.

_-Sakura Haruno. Weak.-_

I didn't need anyone to tell me Sakura was weak. She was too dependent on her teammates, and didn't even so much as try to acknowledge Naruto. That combined with her infatuation and complete focus on Sasuke wasn't helping her strength.

It was pathetic.

A frown met my lips as I watched them from a tree, training on my own. I was practicing not only my chakra control, but hiding my chakra. I let my eyes trail the pinkette for a moment before shaking my head and gripping the branch below me, hanging from it and easing myself onto the one below me.

I felt myself sneer at the thought of her for a moment before turning my head away. She was ridiculous, in that way. She had what I would have given my life for-the world for-and she treated it like it was just...

My hand went to a fist, abusing the bark beneath my fingers. She had everything I had always wanted, and she was throwing it away.

I had grown up being restricted from the things she had. I had been allowed no friends-and even if I had, I wouldn't have had any. She had been given the chance to become someone, something, amazing. I had been locked away and silenced, an untrained mutt saved for the time they needed a savage killer. Not that the occasion had come up, of course.

I brushed black locks from my eyes, pulling at the bangs and sighing. My hair didn't look quite the same as it usually did, the color was off. It made me stop my mental rant, if only to stare in confusion at the dark strands. My thoughts redirected themselves back to the genin and their sensei, and I felt suddenly rather hostile. I pushed the feeling away.

By now, I figured at least Kakashi knew I was watching, the other three...

"Sasuke-teme! Why did you get in my way!"  
>"Get off, Dobe."<br>"NARUTO! Get off of Sasuke-kun!"

Well, I doubted they knew I was watching. A smile quirked my lips though, looking at the entangled heap of orange, yellow and black. There was quite a bit of yelling and whining and demanding until they got themselves fixed, and Naruto was desperately trying to brush the 'Sasuke' off of him, as if it were a disease.

"You've infected me!"  
>"Naruto-" that one was Kakashi, sighing.<p>

"You'll be dead by midnight." I informed him, having left my place in the tree. I sauntered over casually, leaning toward my brightly colored friend. "It's deadly."

I received two glares, an amused look, and one a mixture of confused and humored. And then, a bright look breaking past a former glare from the kunoichi. It worried me.

"Ah, Kyo-kun," Sakura peered at me with a smile, "Do you have training?"

"Not until tonight." I responded, raising a brow at her. "Why?"  
>"Perfect!" I was seeing a new, manipulative side of Sakura. "I was wondering if you could help me with something?"<p>

I did not like the look I was receiving, so I gave a hesitant 'hai' and stepped away from her slightly. Something about 'helping' her gave me the idea that I would rather throw myself into a wild pack of starved wolves.  
>Surprisingly, she only gave a happy thank you before turning to Sasuke. I blinked slowly, wondering just what I'd agreed to before shrugging it off.<p>

"So, now that that's settled... Ano..." and suddenly, she was shy. "Sasuke-kun, I was wondering if you wanted to go out tonight?"

This was promptly ignored as the raven haired teen turned to his sensei. Naruto grinned, practically bouncing toward her. I felt a brief slit of pity for Naruto, more annoyance at Sakura, and then a flicker of amusement at their conversation.

"I'll go with you, Sakura-chan!"  
>"No."<br>"B-but! Sasuke-teme isn't all that good, he's just-"  
>"Naruto..." she growled warningly, emerald eyes dark.<p>

The situation had gone from amusing to making me question Sakura's sanity. I frowned, and turned tiredly to face the silver haired man. He seemed to be exasperated, if only because this was almost a daily routine.

I wrinkled my nose, rolling my eyes. I supposed Sasuke and Kakashi were having an important discussion, and I was rather interested in listening in. As morally corrupt as it was, I only caught something about the Chunin Exams before two hands began taking, read; dragging me and nearly ripping my arm out of it's socket, away.

And who did those almost-manicured-looking hands belong to?  
>Sakura Haruno.<p>

"O-Oi, Sakura..." confusion clouded my words and I tugged in vain to get away from her. "Where are we going?"

"You said you would help me." she replied sweetly, and I flailed for a moment before looking back to call for help.

Too late, as both boys were at each others throat's, teeth bared and eyes narrowed murderously. I flailed wildly anyway, watching as Kakashi met my eyes. Sasuke noticed soon after, something flickering across his features, and then Naruto who immediately said something that was probably stupid. I turning back to Sakura, still tugging.

"Now? I thought you meant-" This time, I was cut off by a yelp from Naruto, and I flinched as I watched him hit the dirt face first. Before I could continue questioning Sakura, we were nearing what looked to be her destination.

The Yamanaka flower shop. She shoved me unceremoniously inside, and I noted that passerby had been watching in amusement.

"What an adorable couple." an old woman said to my left, smiling.  
>"No. No, that's not..." but the woman wasn't listening.<p>

I gave up easily, turning to look for the pinkette.  
>"Nani?" I turned to find she had not entered after me and I scowled. "She hasn't even told me what she wanted."<p>

I was interrupted by a sigh from in front of me and my head snapped to see a teen probably a year my senior lounging on the ground, leaning against the counter. To the left was a bigger-and not taller-boy as well.

The first had dark hair, in a ponytail, who looked vaguely familiar. The other wore his headband like a hat, brown hair fluffing out of two spots lacking coverage. He was eating a bag of chips.

"Women are too troublesome."  
>"Mmhmm hen faihting kher for no horefer." I couldn't understand him in the least.<p>

I crouched in front of them, tugging at my white shirt with a sigh. Both acknowledged me wordlessly, before going back to eating and being lazy. After a moment, I tilted my head to the side and decided to introduce myself.  
>"I'm Rai, Tsukyomi."<p>

The lazy one opened a dark eye and blinked once, sighing as if it were too troublesome to give me a name. "Nara, Shikamaru."  
>"Akchu, Hoiji" the other said, smiling. There was a pause and Shikamaru sighed, gaze shifting to his friend and back to myself.<p>

"That's Chouji."

I chuckled and shook my head, opening my mouth to respond. Or, I would have had I not been tackled to the floor with a squeal. "Sasuke-kun!"

The old woman, I noted as she wandered by with paid for flowers, was watching in almost horror. I could couldn't imagine what she was thinking, nor what she would tell her old grannie friends. It made me slightly scared for my reputation.

Then remembrance of the blonde came back to me, and I noted she had latched onto me, squealing. I blanched for a moment before instinct kicked in and I shoved the blonde female away with a grunt and pushed myself into a crouch.

"Are you crazy? There's no way I could be that sorry son of a-" She obviously noticed I wasn't wearing the Uchiha's clothing, nor had his eyes or hair.

I suppose it was the color of my hair-sad as that is-that made her think I was him. And I was pretty cloaked in shadows, that might've helped her confusion.

"Oh." She gave me a look of distaste and stood with a huff. "Then who are you?" (I swear, I twitched. "No apology?" and a mutter of "troublesome' in the background.)

"Rai, Tsukyomi." I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck.  
>She looked ready to respond, when a certain pinkette strode inside and smiled at her. It was not a nice smile.<p>

Competitive? Yes. Resentful? Yes. Friendly? Not especially.

I clicked just before the two spoke and I raised my eyebrows in a mixture of amusement and confusion. Naruto had, quite some time back, told me a brief version of why the girls 'hated' each other. I was definitely willing to bet they wanted to be best friends still. Even if they still competed with each other.

Sakura flipped her hair over her shoulder and smiled at the other girl. I cautiously moved backward, beside Shikamaru who looked on with bored interest.

"Ino-pig."  
>"Billboard brow."<p>

I swear, lightning crackled between their glares, and I shifted uneasily. I realized quickly I did not want to help Sakura anymore. I ignored the majority of their conversation-read; ignored all of their arguing-until both turned to me in unison.

"Well?  
>"Eh?"<br>There was a huff and Ino flipped her too-long-in-my-opinion ponytail over one shoulder. "We asked you a question."

That was one question I did not want to answer. "Ano..."  
>I decided I was never in my life getting between Ino and Sakura again.<p>

_-Family. Missing.-_

I had been receiving a letter every week from my parents, and I would return one when I had the time. I was worried, to say the least, because I had not received a letter in three weeks. There was a sneaking suspicion of their death that I refused to believe.

If they were dead, it was all the more reason to return._ 'Revenge.'_ the word was cold, the voice harsh. It was true, I wanted revenge, but I didn't plan on going through with it. Sinking to their level was disgraceful.

_'You're too weak.'_

I closed my eyes, already absently putting the words to paper as they entered my head. It was to my parents, as Tai had returned yesterday. The not-as-fat bird was uninjured, if only more stupid than before. I patted the bird on the beak absently, rolling the letter and tying it around the brown and black speckled bird.

"Bring me back something, Tai."

I knew, somewhere in the back of my mind, that he would not be bringing good news.

_-Sasuke Uchiha. Enigma.-_

I groaned, dropping to the ground and shaking my head. I was, in a word, exhausted. I had trained with Lee and Gai-sensei last night, sparred with Tenten this morning, and won. I had attempted to spar with Neji, and actually hadn't done too bad-though, I had still lost and received a new set of bruises.

The spar-with-everyone thing had been what the twinkle in his eyes was for. I hated that twinkle. Damn Gai-sensei. On the upside, I had managed to get Neji to stop looking down on me as much. And Tenten had introduced me to a weapon I was definitely interested in.

I rubbed my knuckles experimentally, wincing at the bruised ones and avoiding the bloodied ones. By the time Team 7 arrived, I was grumbling to myself and re-wrapping them. This was an extra training session, placed well after the sun had fallen.

The four were at the usual, Kakashi silently judging them. I almost joined in. Almost. I had come to the decision to start distancing myself from the ninja of Konoha. I had plans, and getting too attached in Konoha would only serve to hold me back.

It was, in all reality, just a bit too late for not getting caught up with them. I was, distantly, disappointed in myself for a few moments.

I didn't really watch them as they left, giving a wave and quieter than usual goodbye, instead I thought. I had come to my own conclusions about the genin of Konoha, and some of the Jounin. The only genin I couldn't come to an exact conclusion about...

"Do you want something?" I mumbled, cracking open an eyes to glare at the Uchiha standing above me.

He didn't answer, charcoal eyes narrowed in what I assumed to be suspicion. I rolled my eyes, getting to my feet slowly. "Come on, I don't want to be waiting for you to speak all day."

I didn't really have time to think before I was on the ground, dazed and confused. I reached up gently, running a finger over my bottom lip staring at the blood there. "Well... That really was not what I was expecting."

I didn't have time to dodge his foot, instead latching onto his leg and dragging him down with me. He grunted as we tumbled, and I managed to scramble away from him.

"What did I do this time?" I was panting, lifting myself up with a wince.  
>"You're lying to us."<p>

I didn't have time to ponder that meaning either, already ducking away from a well placed punch and struggling to keep up. Besides being exhausted, my body was literally aching, only partially due to the weights.

"I'm not..." I grunted when we hit the ground again, scowling up at him. "Lying to anyone."

Disoriented, I decided against further action when he brought out a kunai. White eyes clashed with onyx and it hit me. When I had collapsed on top of him, that look of realization. I grimaced, shoving back against his chest until he was sitting on his heels.

I didn't catch exactly what he'd said, but it was along the lines of my being a girl, I assumed.

"And? Don't tell me it's a crime now?" His eyes narrowed and I managed to sit up.  
>"Baka." he scoffed, gaze sliding away from me.<p>

I huffed, throwing my hands in the air. "You and I both know kunoichi are treated differently. Doing this, nobody would even think twice about not holding back against me."

I felt face twist into a sneer, "Besides, I have my reasons." the words even felt sour on my tongue. My reasons, I suspected, would either get me killed, hunted, or run out of Konoha. I took part of those conclusions from Naruto.

"Hn."

I wondered, briefly, if that meant it was my problem. Either way, I had a feeling that Sasuke wouldn't find it in his interest to tell anyone. He wouldn't gain anything from it, at least. I closed my eyes, grimacing after a moment and opening them to glare at Sasuke.

Unsurprisingly, he glared right on back. I looked away first, pushing myself to my feet and turning my back to him, the lie already on my tongue.

"Do what you want with that information, Uchiha. It doesn't make a difference to me."

I may have gave another snarky remark, but there was something coming at us. A bird. I stopped, eyes widening slightly. I was running forward when I saw the bird wobble, skidding on my knees to stop right in front of the bird. He had landed on the ground, shaking wet feathers and plucking at the spot below his wing.

I figured, at first, that it was only water he was shaking from himself. I was proved wrong quickly, when I reached out and slipped the letter from his leg. It was my letter from the day before, not one from my parents.  
>I dropped the letter paper abruptly, holding my hand up to the sky and blinking a few times to make sure my eyes weren't deceiving me.<p>

"Blood."

I couldn't quite tell if the word came from my own mouth or the stoic Uchiha's, but it didn't matter. I stuffed the letter back into the tie, gathering up the bird and frowning. He clawed his way up to my shoulder, and I watched him for a moment.

I knew one thing for certain at that moment.

My parents were dead.

_-Author's Note, for the cold hard facts-_

_Because I am just that boss, it took a while to update. I am not sorry. Halfway through the next chapter, and going. I feel as if this is a bit sloppy in places, but that's... Development?_

_Whatever, I'm not too pleased with this chapter.  
><em>


	5. Monsters and Pain

_-Deciding to 'hang out' with Sasuke might have been a bad idea. Note; he might be intimidating, but that does nothing to keep away the skanks.-_

I had kept Tai, and the bird was growing fat again. Dad probably wouldn't have allowed that, but I ignored the fact sourly. In fact, the bird did little for than sit on his perch, eat, occasionally destroy my apartment, and follow me around. I felt a bit bad, actually.

All he really did was 'caw' and make noises at me all day.

As well, I kept the news I had discovered as casual as I could. Most people knew by then, and by the look on their faces, there was confusion and pity. Confusion as to where I came from and just what it meant to me that my parents were dead. Pity for a girl they didn't even know. The thought made me resentful.

Actually, my time was too consumed with training lately to be too resentful. The thought made me remind myself of Sasuke; a creepy thought. But I had little choice. The Chunin exams had started, both of my favorite teams had passed the first test, and things were going well enough.

Sadly, I had nothing to do. Excluding train, eat, and sleep. Even then, sleep wasn't a necessity after all the nights I had ended up going without it anyway.

Naruto was training constantly, Sasuke was training constantly, Sakura was hardly training. And even then, they were all doing something to prepare for the exams. Sakura, actually, seemed to often have a book. This led me to believe she was learning basic things she would need to know-or, thought she needed to know-for the next test.

The same went for Team Gai, never not training it seemed.

Sadly, I felt lonely. Which was odd, seeing as I had never felt lonely before. I was always content with my thoughts, and her thoughts. Still, I took even later nights and earlier mornings to train with Gai-sensei, and it had been leaving me exhausted. Not only that, but I had sessions with Kakashi as well.

Those took place when he wasn't training Team 7, sometimes when he was only training Sasuke, and on rarer occasions it was only the two of us. This being mentioned, he was off on a mission and I... Well, I had nothing to do other than bother the only person I could really bother.

And no, it wasn't Neji. Well, not since he had blocked off my chakra last time.

In other words, I had chosen to tag along with Sasuke-completely out of boredom, not because I felt like we were_ friends _or anything-and so far, it had been an uneventful walk.

Despite my attempts to remain mostly unnoticed, Sasuke demanded attention and respect, just with the way he held himself. Hell, we were only walking down the street and half of Konoha seemed to be staring.

"I feel like I'm silently being judged." I muttered, scowling.  
>"Hn." the usual reply from Sasuke left me rolling my eyes.<p>

After a few moments we found ourselves in what looked to be a small field. I looked around, and then examined the stoic Uchiha out of the corner of my eye. I had to admit-even being myself and with my slight dislike for him-he was extremely good looking. I would never tell anyone this, of course.

"What are you looking at?" he snapper sternly, black eyes narrowed.

I looked away, slight blush betraying me. "You're boring, you know. I mean, you dragged me all the way out here and didn't even say a word."

"_You_ followed _me_, remember?" he snapped, scowling.

I smiled slightly nevertheless, turning to face him more, giving a noncommital noise.

"Can you tell me something?" I took that moment to lift my face to the sky, sighing.

"...Hn."

"What do you think of me?" I kept my expression emotionless, passive. It was the most important question I would ever ask him.

He was scowling, rolling his eyes. "You're-"

"Lie to me." I cut off the last bit of his sentence with a frown, knowing the words sounded a bit too desperate.  
>There was a short pause and he scoffed, crossing his arms. "Infuriating."<p>

I rolled my eyes, looking back down to glare at him. I crossed my arms in imitation of him, and he raised a slender brow in question. Or annoyance. It was hard to tell with him.

"Thank you for doing the exact opposite of what I asked, really."

After a very petty, rather unfounded argument, we were walking back. I took a moment to actually think, for once appreciating the silence my companion provided. It was nice to be around people, people who weren't severly screwed in the head, or bent on literally driving me insane.

That being said, it was that precise moment that one of the teenage girls bent on driving Sasuke insane squealed and latched onto his arm.

I felt something between pity and amusement, dashed with just the slightest bit of an emotion I refused to acknowledge. Back on topic, I saw the Uchiha's brow twitch when the blonde began talking.

"Sasuke-kun~! You haven't been around very much, and I was worried that billboard-brow had..." about there was when I stopped listening, coughing awkwardly.

"Ino-san, is that you?"

The blonde turned blue eyes on me, still smiling a smile that I would assume meant she was slightly insane, and took a minute to look me over. She must have recognized me, but she immediately went back to attempting to molest Sasuke.

This time, I twitched, watching him push at the girl in a way that definetly wasn't gently. I had come to new terms, mentally, with Sakura in that moment. I thought she was a fan girl, but looking at Ino, I had been sorely wrong.

After, eventually managing to detach the blonde kunoichi from his arm, he merely glared at her, occasionally shooting me a look. Completely missing the meaning, I continued to stand there and glance back and forth between the two.  
>"So," I started cheerfully, "Did you actually need anything, Ino-san?"<p>

She paused, almost thoughtful, before turning to me and frowning. She held out a flower to me that I didn't recognize and smiling slightly. "Actually, someone wanted me to give you this flower."

"E-eh?" I nervously took the flower, holding it as if it could bite. "Demo, who would send me a flower?"

I got a shrug in answer and she turned at the call of her name to Chouji. I waved to him and he sent me one as well. I received a much slower, lazier raise of the hand from their third teammate.

Relieved to have gotten rid of her, I turned back to the raven haired male to find some girl I didn't know practically glued to his side. He, looking slightly disgusted, shoved at her for a moment. I took a tentative step forward and prodded the giggling figure, frowning when she took no notice.

Annoyed, I took the collar of her shirt and tugged forcefully, causing the girl to stumble. She looked up at me in offense, giving a whine. I twitched at the noise, depositing her on the opposite die of me and crossing my arms.

"Sasu-"

"No."

There was a pause and she gave me an almost injured look. "No?" it sounded like a statement.

I shook my head, "No."

She scowled, raising herself to her full height. I am embarrassed to admit she was slightly taller than myself. I took that moment to notice Sasuke had fled the scene, and I was quick to disappear as well, losing the fangirl with ease.

Or, somewhat ease. I had to skid into an alley to lose the second girl. She had come running when she heard the words 'Sasuke-kun is mine!' from the first. I took a short step back, scowling.

"Naruto is right. He can be such a teme." I growled, stalking out the alley. I huffed, crossing my arms and scouring the area swiftly. Of course, my dark haired companion was nowhere to be found. I, eventually, made my way to the place I figured I could find the lone member of his clan. The training grounds were deserted apart from the two of us as I entered, brushing past him before actually facing him.

"You should sanitize your arm." I paused, wrinkling my nose, "And your face."  
>"Why?"<br>"You have skank germs on you."

I thought I saw him smirk, but it may have been my imagination. I grinned at him anyway, wiggling my eyebrows suggestively.

"Unless you like that kind of thing." He gave me a look of near disgust, and I stopped. "You owe me, y'know."  
>He scoffed, eyes rolling. "I don't owe you anything."<br>"Your fangirls tried to maul me, of course you owe me, Uchiha."

_-There's another one, but this one is scary. He's colder than Naruto, murderous almost. He scares me. His name is Gaara, he has red hair, and I think he wants to kill me.-_

I scowled, hands shoved in my pockets as I stormed forward. I had planned to train with Gai-sensei before I found out that the Hokage wanted me to escort some Sand nin around the village. That, and I was to keep tabs on them. I wasn't enthusiastic at all. Speaking of them, I had only been told that I would know them when I saw them.

And I did, actually. The three hardly looked alike, but they were supposed to be siblings. The Sand Siblings was what they were called, though I didn't recognize it.

The girl had sandy blonde hair up in four spikes, dark teal eyes, a light purple outfit, and her sand headband around her neck.

The next was the tallest, he had paint on his face and black eyes, his hat seemed to have cat ears, and his outfit was all black. Briefly, I wondered how he wasn't having a heat stroke in that.

The shortest was a boy probably my age, with red hair and a tattoo on the left of his forehead. His eyes were a cold teal, outlined with black lines that I assumed were from insomnia. A gourd was on his back, and a brown strap held it there.

There was a hiss of warning in the back of my head, a whisper of the word demon. I caught on quickly, though it didn't much make a difference to me.

I picked up my pace toward them, stopping in front of the three with a slight frown.

"Kyo." I said finally, bowing slightly.

"Temari."

"Kankuro."

There was a pause during which my gaze fell on the red haired teen. He kept on with the same cold look, arms crossed. I wondered if he was going to be something like Sasuke; too much effort to even give out his name. It seemed so, because his sister was the one who went to speak.

"Gaara."

All of us snapped our gazes to him before relaxing, though his siblings looked suspicious as to why he had gone through the trouble of giving me his name. Did I really look so insignificant to them? Probably; I wasn't even a Konoha nin for Kami's sake.

_'Teal eyed freak.'_ The acidic words rebounded through my thoughts with an angry hiss,_ 'That bastard and I never got along.' _On instinct, as if she was referring to the redhead, my hand twitched toward the kunai on my leg_. 'Someone's eager.'_

Apparently, the three noticed my movement, and were none too pleased about it. I pushed aside the impending thoughts of doom and managed a horrible poker face, gesturing for them to follow.

"That's Ichiraku's, best ramen you'll ever meet." I announced, waving to the side absently. None of them so much as blinked, even as I showed them the training grounds. Seeing as they were the last place on my list, I turned, mouth open to tell them that was all, and immediately threw myself forward, bracing myself to the ground on my hands and tips of my toes.

"What the Hell?" I snarled, glancing back at the kunai imbedded in the tree. I received one slightly suspicious look, one more annoyed, and one completely amused. "Is there any reason you decided to attack me?"

"You're not a ninja." Kankuro pointed out quickly, "But you dodged that like a pro."  
>"Yet." I corrected, straightening slowly. "I've been training here, but I'm not a ninja yet."<br>"At least you'll be fun."

"Arrogant prick," I seethed, brushing myself off. I almost forgot who I was pretending to be, but I forced myself back into the role easily. "Do you three need anything else?"

"A training dummy," Temari offered, gesturing to me with a near feral grin. I knew I should have declined.

_-Training with the Sand Siblings; Terrifying. Gaara's sand defense? Deadly. New rule; don't fuck with Gaara.-_

"Cut it out, Kankuro." I hissed, swatting his hand away from me. As it was, I had been watching Gaara for the past ten minutes, and he was ruining my concentration. "I'm busy."  
>"Are you gay?" he asked, peering at me again. "Because you've been-"<br>"Shut up."

I paused, briefly watching Temari bash Kankuro over the head with her fan for being such a nuisance before redirtecting my gaze. He was intriguing and scary and weird. I frowned, slowly slipping a kunai out and twirling it through my fingers. In a second, I was standing, kunai soaring toward him. I hit the ground, though it hadn't been from either of his siblings.

Sand had literally slammed me into the ground, and I found that it had also stopped my kunai. His eyes narrowed on me, and I felt myself leave the ground, the golden grip tightening substantially. I sucked in a breath, grinding my teeth together and struggling to lift my arm.

"Gaara,"  
>Temari stopped when I did actually manage to lift my arm, snapping my fingers. The result was the paper bomb on my kunai going off, sand retreating to protect the demon inhabited teen. I stared for a long moment, pulling myself to my feet with a grin.<p>

"So that's it." I mused, running a hand through my hair. "And I thought you would be like us." I murmured, referring secretly to myself and Naruto. "I knew there was something else."  
>"Kyo, move."<br>"Why?" I turned my gaze to the siblings with a frown.

I got my answer in the form of sand coming at me, and I rolled to the side with a curse. I was actually more confused as to why he was still attacking me, arms folded across his chest and his eyes narrowed on me. I knew my speed wouldn't allow my retreat for much longer, so I lifted my hands, putting the seals together quickly.

"Suiton: Water Gun." The jet of water from my lips was easily avoided, and I found myself leaping away from another arm of sand. "It's not working."

_'No, you're just too weak.'  
><em>"Shut up."  
><em>'Try harder, kid.'<em>

I hit the ground hard, weights cutting into my skin briefly. I blinked twice, considering dropping them before realizing he wasn't giving me enough time. I didn't even have time to form handsigns anymore. I ducked behind a tree, watching the sand slip around it, and then burst from the trees.

I barreled, accidentally, toward the red haired teen. I panicked, eyes widening. I did the only thing I could think to the, the only thing that made sense at the time. I curled inward and waited for the sand to hit. It came, as expected, from below me, and I made sure to shove myself off of it with one foot.

Not that it did anything for me; the evil golden weapon still took my ankle and slammed me into the ground. I grimaced at the newfound ache in my back, pushing myself up slightly. There was a short pause before the sand came at me again, and it clicked. I let it take me, lifting me into the air and pushing in on me.

"Okay, Gaara, I'm done." The sand didn't give in the least. "Itai. Let me go, dammit, unless you'd like to go through the trouble of hiding my body, too?" That didn't trigger a response either, and the sand crawled up my neck to my chin, leaving me to lift my head defiantly. The grip around me tightened, and I winced, working to move.

"C'mon Gaara, she was just-"

"I don't care." He ground out before his brother could finish, fist tightening further. For a moment, I thought I would die. But no, I hit the ground with a solid thud, wincing at the bruises that would obviously be coming. I was brought back into the current by a gravelly, annoyed voice. "You're not worth my time."

"You're not the first one to say that," I chuckled, standing on shaky feet. "Oh yeah, definitely gonna feel that in the morning."

"You're feeling it now!" Kankuro announced cheerfully, clapping me on the back. "More than most of them get to feel." When it registered what that meant, I paled slightly and let him shove me forward. "Why don't you head off; we'll be fine."  
>"If he kills anyone," I casually sighed, "It's your problem."<p>

"Eh, was that a joke? I haven't heard you-"  
>"Kankuro, shut up."<br>"Alright, alright."

I walked away silently after that, one hand falling to prod at my ribs carefully. One of them was, as suspected, broken, the rest bruised but fine. I grimaced, looking down at my legs with a frown. I had a feeling that, if I looked, they would be a mess of red and soon to be purple.

I scowled, pausing at Ichiraku's and slipping inside. I collapsed at one of the tables in the farther corner, muttering to myself before asking for beef ramen. I tugged at my hair absently, knowing I'd have to chop it all off again, before looking up.

Team 7, as it happened, had apparently wanted to join me. Naruto plopped gracelessly down in front of me, Sakura giving him one of those 'why can't you be more like Sasuke-kun' looks, while the aforementioned Uchiha sighed his annoyance and shoved Naruto over to take his seat.

"Teme." Naruto groused, shooting him a glare. Sakura rolled her eyes, turning and tugging on my arm to take me from my thoughts.

I hitched a breath, snapping my head to the side. She looked slightly surprised, releasing my arm. I rubbed the area gingerly, forcing a grin.  
>"I trained a bit too hard today, gomen, Sakura."<p>

In moments it was forgotten, ramen sitting in front of us in a deliciously pleasing manner. Naruto gave Sasuke a sly look, nudging him. "Hey Sasuke-"

"No."

We all knew the question was a race, to see who could eat faster and who would pay. And we all knew Naruto would win. It was probably the one thing he could kill Sasuke in. I sighed, rolling my eyes and breaking my chopsticks.

"I'm game."  
>"Dattebayo!"<p>

Naruto beat me easily, and I laid down the money with an amused chuckle. There was sparse conversation as the other two finished, mostly Naruto and I making jabs at Sasuke's manliness, before we stood to leave. I went one way, as per usual, and the other three would go the other way.

Or, that was how it usually went. I paused when I heard the approaching figure, waiting for the raven haired male to catch up. I raised a confused brow at him, and he grunted in response. I sighed, continuing after him nonetheless. I glimpsed him frown, brows furrowing before looking away.

"Where are you going?" he demanded finally.  
>"I train with Gai-sensei tonight, Sasuke." I kicked up dirt absently, taking my turn to have him follow me.<br>"You shouldn't be training."  
>"Eh, nani?"<p>

"It hurt when Sakura touched your arm," he pointed out.  
>"Trained too hard," I dismissed, scowl falling onto my features. When it became obvious he didn't believe me, I rounded on him in annoyance. "I got into a scuffle with Gaara. Ah-wait, you don't know-"<br>"You fought him."

"I just said that." I replied slowly, and he turned away from me on his heel, already leaving. "Teme! Where are you going, Uchiha! I wasn't finished-"  
>"Stay away from him."<p>

I would have protested, but he was gone, so I trudged to my destination moodily. When I arrived, I found myself sorer than before. Sore and tired and annoyed. Lee bounded forward with a pleased cry, pulling me forward with too-much enthusiasm.

What I saw surprised me. Iruka-a teacher from the Academy-was smiling at me. And I immediately knew why. My gaze snapped to Gai, worried, confused, excited, and he grinned with a thumbs up.  
>"Who's my opponent?" I whispered, eyes narrowing.<p>

My answer came in the form of a Chunin I didn't know stepping forward and putting out a cigarette on the bottom of his shoe. I grimaced at him, eyes flickering to take in all of his form. He had the advantage of being bigger than me, some kind of sword on his back as well.

I nodded and he held out a hand, grinning. "Otaka."  
>Without warning or hesitation, I shot forward bringing a kick to his side. He skidded slightly, surprised, and stared at me for a moment. "You don't hesitate against an opponent." I murmured, eyes narrowing.<br>"I like him already, Iruka!"

I managed a wiry smirk, pushing myself forward on sore appendages and swiftly removing a kunai from my pouch, swiping at him. He avoided deftly, grin still in place, and I thought one day Naruto would do that. I threw it up, watching him glance at it.

It gave me enough time to fall through familiar hand seals, not bothering with words, before shooting a jet of water at him. He hit a tree with a crack, and I caught my kunai as it came down, ignoring when it nicked my hand. Otaka was up quickly, frowning and coming at me.

I had surprising issues avoiding his attacks, avoiding his fist. I ducked, going to my knees before throwing both hands up, causing the Chunin to topple over. He gave a huff, swinging one leg out and sending me back.

I bit down on my lip hard, shoving to my feet and shaking my head. I took a deep breath, jumping up and hooking my fingers around a branch as he neared, swinging legs forward and into his chest. He hardly stumbled following me with ease.

_'Think, child, think.'  
><em>"You. Are. So," I grunted when I felt a kunai slid against my skin, "Useless."  
><em>'Thank you.'<em>

I ducked beneath a punch, reared a fist back and slamming it into his jaw as hard as possible. He fell through the trees, and I dropped to follow him. Knowing he was fine, I let my eyes skirt the area, frowning when I couldn't see him.

I found out why when the branch below me snapped, and I had to lash out of instinct to grab the ninja wire wrapped around the tree. It cut into my skin painfully, blood sliding down my wrist and dripping from my fingertips as I dangled, sucking in a breath.

I pushed chakra into my feet, settling on the trunk on the tree in a crouch. I paused, frowned, and looked down at my bloodied hand. A smirk slid onto my face and I slid my palm against the tree, letting the blood mark it. I did the same on the other end of my opponent's wire, nodding in satisfaction before letting myself fall to the ground. I found the Chunin lounging in a Kakashi-esque manner, putting out another cancer stick.

"Oi, don't get distracted." I warned, flinging three kunai at him. He dodged them, and I dashed forward, skirting him slightly to run up the trunk of the tree. "You're too slow."

I glanced back to see him following, and I pushed myself toward the red mark on a tree. I didn't latch onto the tree, instead snipping the ninja wire with a kunai and landing on the opposite tree. I watched as he launched himself toward me, and I swung myself around the tree at the last moment circling around to hold the thin wire over his neck.

He looked down in slight surprise, though he was still grinning. "Nice move." He complimented smoothly, leaning toward me. My eyes widened when my vision was met with white smoke, and the log fell when I dropped my grip. "But, not good enough."

I found myself on the ground soon enough, after a lot of struggling and growling and kicking. I managed to get in a few good hits before a kunai was at my neck, and I was looking at the dirt with a scowl. The grass tickled my face in an unpleasantly normal manner and I pulled bit down on the wrist holding the kunai.

There was a curse above me and I scrambled gracelessly to my feet to find Otaka holding a newly bleeding wrist. I blinked once, frowned, and reached into the pouch on my thigh. I pulled out a small role of bandages I'd started carrying around and rolled my eyes, taking his wrist and wrapping it carefully before stepping back.

"I could've handled it." He whined, crossing his arms stubbornly.

"And I'm a jounin."

He scowled, and our argument would have continued had Iruka not dropped down from the trees. He was smiling, though I wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing, even as he directed us along and out into the clearing.

The moment I could, I casually slid against a tree to sit down. I received an odd look, but shrugged it off.

"Congratulations," the brunette haired man started, "Gai had a lot of faith in you."

_-Being a ninja is amazing-even if some of the missions are pointless-though the Hokage says that I should keep up my training with both Kakashi and Gai. He thinks I still need to improve, and he's right.-_

"T-Temari-san, can we take a break?" I was panting, rubbing my still bruised and again sore arm.

"Scared?" she teased, twirling her kunai expertly around one finger.

"No, just sore; you guys literally act like I'm a training dummy…"

"And what a good dummy you are."

I scowled, brushing past her to dump myself in a heap. I noted that I was being watched, and I quickly looked up, to find that Gaara was glaring at me. Then again, he was always glaring at me. This time, though, I sighed and fell backward onto the ground, grimacing.

"I have bruises, you know."

No answer.

"It's nice to see you care."

Again, silence and a sharper glare.

"I can't believe I shirked training for this."

Another bout of silence.

"Thanks for the input."

"You talk too much."

I jumped when the redhead actually graced me with a response, jolting into a sitting position painfully. Even he seemed surprised by my reaction. But it hadn't been completely Gaara that caused the sudden jerk on my part, but something else.

_'He hates me, little one._' I frowned, furrowing my brows at him and shaking my head. '_Don't get too close,'_ I rubbed the heel of my hand against my eye, irritated_. 'That sand was a close enough call.'_

"Thank's Gaara, really." I tugged absently at the bottom of my shirt, scowling and standing. I received a look, but I brushed it off easily, stretching slowly. "I have training to go to." When I was almost away from them, though, I stopped and turned on my heel, tilting my head to the side slightly.

"Good luck in the second round."

I gave two brief waves in response before I turned again and stuffed my hands in my pockets. Nobody was around anyway, and training was far past over leaving me with nothing to do. I rolled my shoulders, approaching Team 7's training grounds with a smile.

I felt oddly good to be there, familiar even. I leaned back, frowning absently up at the sky for a moment. When I heard the footsteps behind me I frowned, hands falling into my pockets.

"Ne, ne, maybe we've found ourselves some actual competition."

I turned slowly, white eyes ending up fixed on an unfamiliar ninja. He looked to be from Iwagakure, but I couldn't see his headband. My eyes narrowed in suspicion when he stepped closer, hand falling to the hilt of a sword.

"You're a ninja, right?" I nodded slowly in affirmation, watching his hand, "Chunin Exams?" This time I shook my head, and he shrugged, "Too bad. I suppose I'll still take this chance to fight you though."

"I never agreed to a spar." I pointed out curtly, "I'm in no mood to waste my time on-" I was stopped by his own moving forward, allowing myself to slip into the defensive. "Fine."

The nin in front of me wasted no time in trying to tackle me, kunai flashing dangerously in one hand. The other grasped at my arm when I ducked away from him, pulling me to the ground. I braced myself on one hand, executing a swift kick into his side.

He let out a yelp, turning to uppercut his fist rather effectively into my chin, sending me to the ground. Scowling, I ignored the slight shaking to my limbs and got into a crouch. Obviously, I wasn't fast enough because he has his sword swinging downward toward me.

With no time to dodge or remove a kunai, I braced my arms upward to take the blow. When I didn't, I eased my eyes open slowly to the too-familiar shirt of Sasuke Uchiha.

"Stay back."

"I didn't need you to save me." I grimaced, dropping my arms and shaking my head with a chuckle.

"Hn."

"Hey, hey," the older teen pulled his weapon back slowly, scowling at the kunai-armed boy before him. "Didn't your sensei ever teach you not to interfere in other people's fights?" he examined us both slowly, scoffed, and rolled his eyes. "Tch. Whatever, he isn't worth it anyway."

"And you're not worth a-" I stopped when the Uchiha had turned back to me, narrowed eyes and all. "I could've handled it."

"By letting him cut your arm off."

"I was…" I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck and sighing. "Fine. Arigouto."

He paused, sighed in annoyance, and held out a hand. I eyed it suspiciously for a moment before taking it and hefting myself onto my feet. I frowned at the state of myself, shaking my head in frustration. I was, inevitably, going to have to stop training for a day or two.

Or maybe three, I conceded mentally, dropping back to my knees with a hiss.

"Baka."

"Shut up, Uchiha. I just need to sit here for a while."

I grimaced when he crouched in front of me, one brow raised in question. A question that I obviously was going to ignore. He paused for a moment, eyes turning to the side before flickering back in my direction.

"What's your name?"

"You know my name." I scoffed, "And you call me a baka."

"Your real name." he demanded, obviously annoyed.

I avoided his gaze for a moment, the clouds taking my interest.

"Akari."

_-Author's Note, for the cold hard facts-_

_At least my chapters are pretty long. No complaining :D_

_I'm getting close to where Sasuke-teme runs off, ne? Well, when it comes there will be one chapter where it tells us that and such. Mmmkay?_

_R&R  
><em>


	6. Akatsuki

_-Note to self; Neji and Sasuke-teme hate each other. Need to find out why.-_

"You've exhausted yourself."

I glanced up from re-wrapping my arms to find one Neji Hyuuga examining me. I nodded once, looking back to my halfway wrapped arms and eying the bruises before continuing. I ignored him for the most part, despite the prying look stuck in his eyes.

"What happened." He didn't ask me, his tone demanded I explain.

"I… I've been training too much." When it became obvious he didn't believe me, I finished wrapping and leaned against the tree, looking up at him. "I got into a couple of… small fights. I'll be fine." A raised brow in response. "Okay, Neji, some Iwa nin and one of the Sand Siblings."

He looked ready to say something else, but I stopped him with a laugh. "Tenten and Lee are going to come looking for you soon if you don't hurry. The Second Match starts soon. She'll kill you if you're late."

And with that, he did leave. I myself stood, wandering to the edge of the forest and peering around. I had never actually been that far out in the forest of Konoha, but it was peaceful.

I leaned back, stretching my arms with a groan, "It's so nice out here~"

"Nice indeed."

I spared a glance to the side to catch a glimpse of red eyes and black hair. I froze, reaching down to find that no, I did not have any weapons with me. Another figure, big and blue and shark-like sauntered up beside him.

It lasted only a few moments. Really, it could have been worse-should have, if they had even been trying. For whatever reason there was, they hadn't killed me-maybe I was a warning, a taunt even.

I felt the fist hit my face before I could even glimpse the blue man, and I had to stagger back to stop from falling over. He grinned, sharp teeth menacing as he advanced closer. I watched warily, noting the sword on his back carefully. I moved before he could get too close, whipping around the trees and flinging myself toward him.

I reached out for his sword, taking hold of the handle and bracing myself against his back, pushing roughly. Spikes jutted out from the handle, though, impaling my hands and sending me back with a hiss of pain.

"Kisame, she's already injured."

"I can still have a little fun with her, Itachi."

Itachi. The name made me snap my gaze in his direction, eyes wide. His stare, though, was blank. I turned my gaze to my hands, assessing the damage and deciding that I wouldn't be able to wield any weapons. I gulped, clenching my fists with a hiss and darting forward.

I was sent flying, sprawled on the ground near the eldest Uchiha. I lay there limp, eyes shut and struggling with my own pain. I wasn't weak, and I wasn't stupid. All the fights and training I had been putting myself through without visiting a medic were taking a harsh toll; and I knew I had no chance of getting away from them.

"Leave her." I blinked, startled, and looked up. "She's not our objective."

"I know, it's the Nine Tails brat, but-" Naruto, I realized, frozen.

"Kisame."

I couldn't resist drawing my gaze up to the red one above me, eyes locked there in horror. They were in the Sharingan, and it scared me. His gaze drew down to mine slowly, Sharingan flipping into something more deadly, sinister.

I let out a scream, drawing my hands up to my head and clutching frantically. I couldn't breathe, and everything hurt. I lay there, gasping and clutching and trying to scream for the longest time before I realized everything the ground beneath me had turned black and hard, everything else bloody red.

I felt something hit me in the side, sending me rolling, and then again, and then in the face. It didn't stop, over and over and over. And then the flash of a sword before it impaled me through the chest.

Have you ever died before? Have you ever felt death? I did. I screamed again when I woke up, noting the scenery hadn't changed from red and black, and that I was again being attacked. Had I been able to move, I might have retaliated, but I couldn't.

_'Akatsuki.'_ The word echoed in the back of my mind, over and over. Not that I knew what the Akatsuki was, but obviously she did. _'They shouldn't have left you.'_

Then came to kick to my nose, breaking it, and again the sword through my chest. It didn't stop.

When I woke up, it was quiet and-to my immense displeasure-everything still hurt. I felt even more bruised and sore than before. At first, I thought I was still in that nightmare, that Hell.

I screamed and snarled, thrashing against a set of hands that had touched me, frantic and terrified. Another set of hands pinned my shoulders, and I gasped out a breath, straining against the arms with a choked cry of pain. There was a lot of talking, cursing, and confusion.

"Stop!" I hissed, lashing out blindly, and clenching my eyes shut. "It-Itai."

"How is she awake?"

"I don't know, we were told the odds were two in ten! Shit, what happened to her, anyway…"

"She bit me! I don't know, you baka!"

"Keep your hands awake from her face then and-dammit, I think we're going to need some help."

I coughed, finally letting them force me down with a hiss of pain. The minute the grip slackened, I thrashed away, hitting the floor with a rather painful thud. I lay there, gasping and clutching at the fallen sheet in vain.

And then it occurred to me that I couldn't be in the forest anymore, and that I might be awake. I opened my eyes quickly, staring unfocusedly at the red stained sheet below me. The red, as it happened, was leaking from my mouth-only partially because I had cut my lip open when I bit someone.

I let myself get hoisted up, pulling in deep breaths slowly and frowning when my back met a bed. I found myself staring up into vaguely orange eyes momentarily before the person turned away speaking in quiet tones to someone else.

"Kakashi-sensei." I ground out carefully, watching the tall, spiky haired figure turn back to me.

I closed my eyes, rasping in a breath and letting myself collapse back onto the bed, trying to numb the pain. There was a long silence before someone else entered; it was a female with long brown hair and green eyes. I blinked dully up at her, forcing myself into a sitting position.

"You are…?" I looked up at the speaking woman with a frown. "Nevermind, then. How are you feeling?"

"I…" my voice refused to cooperate momentarily, and she held out a cup of water that I downed quickly. "Everything hurts."

She nodded once, "You were covered in bruises and cuts; it's to be expected. Where did all of those come from?"

"Training." I furrowed my brows, "And a few spars. And… Them."

She didn't say anything for a moment, watching as I looked around slowly. I recognized the room to be in the hospital, and dimly wondered who had found me.

"Why did you not come to a medic nin before?"

"I wasn't supposed to be…" I glanced down at myself, and then I realized something. Hospital + hospital clothes = someone changing me + knowing I'm a girl = I'm screwed. "A girl."

"…" she gave me a peculiar look before turning when the door opened. "Maybe you should rest."

"No." I snarled immediately, the idea of sleeping making me shudder. "I need to speak to my sensei. Or-or the Hokage."

"You can't." her tone turned clipped as she stood, glancing around once.

"I need to." I half-snapped.

"You need to heal." She responded, already out the door.

The only problem was that I didn't want to heal.

_-Three days in the hospital later, no visits, no anything, and I was impatient. Of course I was healed well enough and all; but they said they were cautious because I could have unknown side effects lingering. New idea? Sneak out often.-_

I was beginning to miss Naruto. And Sasuke. And Sakura. And, put simply, everyone. I sighed, leaning against the wall. I was bored.

I had been filled in by Sakura and Naruto on the events in my absence. Naruto, Sasuke, and Neji had all advanced to the final round. Along with Shikamaru and someone named Shino, of course, that made five Konoha Genin. Then the Sand nin, who I had heard hide nor hair of, and a Sound nin.

I had a sinking feeling about the end of the exams, though. And I had a feeling that Sakura had skirted some of the story with me. I scrambled to my feet when the door started to open, revealing… Air. I stared at the open space curiously before sidling over and over to the door.

"Oi, is anyone there?" I was rewarded with silence.

I shrugged, tugging at my clothes absently. I had managed to convince them to give me my own clothes back, at least. I paused, looking around with a frown.

"Kyo," there was a pause as I turned to face the girl in my room; "You aren't supposed to be up."

"Nah, nah, I'm better than ever, Sakura." She looked away, seating herself beside my bed as I plopped down. "Nani? Is something wrong?"

"Who are you, really?"

"I'm me, Sakura, the same person I've been since I got here."

"No," she said finally, looking up to me, "You're not. You're a kunoichi, and your name isn't even Kyo, is it?"

"Iie, it's not." I held out a hand, grinning, "I'm Akari."

She gave my hand an odd look before taking it slowly, smiling gently.

Within the next few days, everyone I knew had found out I was a girl. I had gotten a few visits, scornful looks when I snuck out. I wondered how much it would affect my training, my ninja status in the end.

_-The Sand Siblings are acting weirder than ever, and the second half of the Chuunin Exams went horribly. Also, note to self; do not take Akatsuki lightly.-_

I shrugged my baggier shirt on over the other, tugging at it and turning to face the door. I felt, in short, amazing. Much better than I had the past few days, at the very least. I stepped out the door quietly, already heading down the hall.

I rolled my wrist smoothly, opening the door and leaning against the frame to peer at Lee. He was by the looks of it, still asleep. Instead of lingering, I turned and shut the door, heading up the stairs.

The next room I stopped at had guards. Five ANBU stationed outside-and I was willing to bet an equal amount inside, too.

"Sorry, no visitors." I blinked once, twice, a third time and slid my gaze to the door behind him. No chance of getting past them. "No visitors."

"Could you at least tell me if he's okay?" I conceded finally, crossing my arms stubbornly.

Again, I got no answer. Annoyed, I turned on my heel with a mutter of 'bastard' and made my way back to my own room. Plopping down on the bed irritably, only to stand when someone entered the room moments later. To my abundant surprise, it was what looked to be an ANBU.

I ended up following him to meet the Hokage, who smiled at me as I stood across from him.

"Ah, Kyo," he paused, smiling, "Or would you prefer Akari?"

"Akari." I managed, looking away.

"I need you to tell me what happened to you."

"I did!" I snapped, exasperated. "I was… I was simply attacked in the forest. I was weak and easily overpowered. There's nothing else to it." A bead of sweat slid down from my temple and I gulped.

"Are you sure?" I blinked, looking at the spot just over his shoulder. There was no way to explain it.

"A-Akatsuki." I hissed after hesitating, one hand curling into a fist.

"They were here." He rumbled hands steepling. "Did they know who you were?"

"Do you?" I shot back instinctively, earning a raised brow. I sighed, turning my head to the side. "Hai, they did. But… They weren't after me, Hokage-sama." I couldn't look at him, I felt as if I was betraying my friend. "They were after Naruto; they settled for me."

A dark look settled on the Hokage's face before he looked away from me, pensive. I kept going slowly, shuddering at the memory presenting itself.

"I don't know why he let me go, Hokage-sama. It…" I furrowed my brows, dragging myself through what they had said. "Gomen, I don't remember a lot. Itachi Uchiha was there. The other looked like a shark-he was blue and everything. Itachi called him Kisame."

There was another, tenser pause and I looked back to the old man with a frown. "What did he do to me?"

"That was the Mangekyou Sharingan." He explained briefly, quickly, and I knew he was keeping things from me. I shuddered again, looking away. "I don't know why they left you, but they intended for you to live."

"I was almost put into a coma!" I snarled angrily, "That is not living."

_-Itachi Uchiha. Traitor to Konoha, missing nin, member of the Akatsuki. He let me live.-_

I had gotten a clipped explanation of the Akatsuki; for my own safety. I knew old man Hokage was keeping things from me, of course, but I didn't say anything.

I kicked absently at a rock, watching it fall to the darkened streets below from my place on the roof. I stared at it dully for a moment before turning back around and lacing my fingers together behind my head.

I looked across at the hospital, taking a step back and sighing. I took a running start, pushing chakra into my feet as I leapt, grinning. Unfortunately, I overshot and went flying through a window and to the ground. I hissed, reaching up to cradle my head slowly.

"Itai. No wonder Uchiha calls me a baka."

I sighed, sitting up and crossing my legs to look around. I squinted at the bed, confused when the figure stirred. I cursed quietly, looking to the side to find the door. I stopped when a familiar head of raven haired appeared though, matched with a face.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke glared down at me and I chuckled, rubbing the back of my head nervously.

"I overshot my room."

"Hn, baka."

I scoffed, rolling my eyes, "You're the baka. Pushing yourself like that, tch."

He gave me a look that obviously said I had no room to talk, raising a brow. I sighed, looking away. I couldn't look at him; it was too much like looking at his brother.

"I take it your healing well?" No answer. I glared up at him with a roll of my eyes, chuckling. "Naruto practically threw a fit when he found out Kakashi was training you and not him. It was pretty funny."

"That dobe." He muttered, black eyes turning away from me.

"You…" I frowned at the floor. "He's terrifying, your brother." I practically felt his gaze snap to me, eyes narrowed furiously. "You wouldn't believe…"

I found myself surprised when I was pinned on the ground underneath him, one hand clutching my collar, the other in a fist. I didn't see Sasuke or Itachi in that moment, I saw something akin to a monster in his eyes. I reached up, gripping his wrist.

"Teme! Let me go." I hissed, glaring. I couldn't attack him or anything-he was still injured for Kami's sake.

"Where is he?" He growled, hauling me upward.

"I don't know." I choked out, hissing as he wrenched me further.

"Dammit-"

"Sasuke, your-that hurts!"

He let go, breath coming out rougher than usual, and I reached up to rub at my neck. He looked to angry, almost hurt somehow. I didn't like it at all; it wasn't the Sasuke I knew.

"But you won." Sasuke snarled, leaning closer to me. From my place on the ground, I looked up at him and frowned, shaking my head. "You got away."

"No." I said quietly, unable to look away from him, "He let me go."

_-Nobody seems to mind my being a girl too much. Although, it turns out Neji, Gai, Kakashi and Lee already knew-sneaky temes. I need to remember to visit Lee some more, too, now that I'm out of the hospital.-_

"Neji, stop." I snapped, stepping forward. Tenten was panting behind me, half bent over. "You might be able to keep this up; but you're going to kill Tenten like this."

He glared at me, and then tried to look over my shoulder at his teammate. Scowling, I stepped further in his way, "Fine, I'll help you train."

He narrowed his gaze, similarly white eyes a mixture of annoyed and impatient. "The Finals-"

"Can wait." I snapped. "Besides, I'm a good enough fight. You can't exhaust Tenten." He continued to look impatient, "What now?"

"Actually," I groaned and turned my head to see Kakashi and Gai approaching, noting that it must have been why Neji kept glaring. "I need your help."

"Nani!" I rounding on them, exasperated. "But he's going to-"

I was cut off by him ruffling my hair and leading me away. I slapped away his hand irritably and followed reluctantly, muttering to myself about rude senseis and idiotic genin.

"I need you to train with Sasuke."

"Eh?" I looked up expectantly to find that we were indeed at the training grounds. "I need to see how much he's improved." He smiled, turned away with a wave and said; "I'll be back, don't have too much fun."

I blinked a few times, glared at his back and turned to face my frienemey. I would have sighed had my brows not raised themselves in surprise of their own accord.

"Nice outfit." I commented lightly, falling into a defensive position. He scowled and glared at me in annoyance, "I'm serious; it suits you."

He darted forward when I snickered, and I spun to avoid him, adrenaline already coursing through my veins. The oddly familiar feeling was nice, and I grinned, whipping out a kunai and holding it between my teeth as I pulled out two shuriken.

The first he dodged flawlessly, the second he deflected. I pouted inwardly, letting go of the one in my mouth and twirling it between my fingers deftly.

"You got less fun, Uchiha." I rolled my eyes in false mockery, rushing forward and immediately we were launched in a flurry of kicks, punches.

I ground my teeth together, going in from the left with the kunai. He blocked, pushing against me forcefully. I took my chance to nail him once in the jaw before he sent me skidding back with a kick.

"Okay, so I lied. That one hurt."

I let him come at me, ducking away from him and throwing myself into the trees. He was with me in moments, watching as I came around with a kunai. Instead of attacking him, I circled once and leapt upward at him.

I didn't hit, but I came close. I froze when I saw why, though, his eyes had turned red with the Sharingan. I didn't even try to block or avoid the next hit, and I want flying, stopped only but a tree. I grimaced, rubbing my temple knowing that I would have a headache soon.

"Gomen," I sighed, standing, when Sasuke neared. "I got distracted."

Somehow, with the narrowed coal eyes rolling, I don't think he believed me. I pushed myself to my feet, stretching. I grinned after a moment, turning to the Uchiha.

"So, Uchiha," I started slowly, stepping toward him, "I suppose all you've done recently is train?" His response was a glare. "Ne, that's not healthy." Again, no response. "Fine, I'll go see Lee and Naruto on my own then." I stuck my tongue out at him, ignoring the look that flashed over his features at the mention of Naruto.

I rolled my eyes at him in annoyance. Of course he wouldn't know his own teammate was in the hospital-much less care. I shoved my hands in my pockets, raising a brow at him.

"Apparently, he just showed up there. He told me it was some amazing training, a giant toad, a perverted sage." This time, he simply looked annoyed. "Oh, come on, you aren't even curious? Tch. He's out now anyway."

"Come on, teme! It's the last day before the Finals-don't you want to do something besides train? Even Neji isn't this much of a prude."

I scowled and huffed, leaning irritably against a tree. Fine, I could ignore him too. Ignoring him got to be hard after I got bored, so I turned to him with a frown. Of course, I would have if he was still there.

"Teme…" I growled, closing my eyes and leaning back against the tree.

Something cold was promptly shoved in my mouth, and I jumped, yanking it out and snapping my eyes open. The first thing I saw was a blue Popsicle in my hand, and the second was the raven haired teen standing in front of me. Curious, I raised both brows in question.

"Just eat it."

"Er… Ne, why don't you have one?"

"I don't like sweets."

"It's a special occasion-you could become a Chunin."

He sighed, shooting me a look. At the least, he wasn't training. I sighed, biting the top of the blue popsicle off after a moment.

"Oi, Sasuke," I looked off to the side, "What are you going to do? Gaara… He's not like the other Genin you've fought."

"Hn. I can take care of myself."

"I hope so." I sighed, leaning my head back against the trunk of the tree, "For your sake and mine."

_-Author's Note, for the cold hard facts-_

_Aa, just a warning; The little notes she makes to herself will not always have to do with the upcoming scene.  
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_R&R  
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	7. I kill a giant snake

_-I'm worried about Naruto and Sasuke. Not to mention Neji-but less so, because he's Neji. Gaara seems more than ready to kill Sasuke, and I don't like it.-_

I leaned forward, clutching the railing painfully tight. Of course, the matches hadn't even started yet, but I was there. I frowned down at the dirt, worrying my bottom lip in my annoyance. It was taking too long to start, in my opinion. The others started piling in then, and the others in the higher stands. I glared at them, the noise already working its way into a headache.

The contestants were all seven-I questioned where Sasuke was-standing in the middle. Examining them, I noted that nobody seemed nervous in the least. Gaara was glaring rather murderously up toward the Hokage and Kazekage-a fact that worried me.

A hand met my shoulder and I jumped, rounding on them quickly before relaxing. I sighed, looking away from the person and back down. Come to think of it, one of the contestants had changed. Dosu, I think, Team 7 had a run in with him…

"That kid has no chance. The Hyuuga will demolish him."

"It's a shame he only got here by luck. And here we thought we would get some amusement out of it, watch him…"

My hand went into a fist, rounding on the man to my right and pinning him to the seat with a glare. I stalked forward two steps, leaning down with a snarl.

"I will rip your tongue out and shove it down your friend's throat if you two do not shut up. Do you understand?"

They nodded eagerly and I whipped back around, returning to my spot clutching at the rail. I noted the new dents, slight but there, and slackened my grip slightly. I grinned a feral grin when the two talked, chuckling.

It started out exactly as I thought it would, trying to strike from the front. Neji deflected him easily, and I narrowed my eyes. "C'mon Naruto!"

And then Neji hit him, first hit of the match. I flinched and turned to see Sakura having a similar reaction. I clenched the metal again, frowning. Naruto wouldn't go down easily, I knew, but Neji was strong.

"You have to get past that defense first, Naruto." I hissed to myself, "Or those clones are useless."

My head dropped, cursing. All of his clones had been blown away so easily. I listened intently to their conversation, and then sighed. Ever so reliant on destiny, Neji was. But Naruto. Well, he never knew when to give up. An abundance of clones came up next, and I let out a breath.

Even I found myself shocked when he tricked Neji. I leaned further over the edge with a cheer. "Yatta!" I was promptly let down when Naruto was thrown back by that damnable shield of chakra. I seethed silently, scowling. "How did I forget… He and Tenten spent so long on it… Kaiten."

"Get up Naruto!" I shouted after he'd taken on the defense again. And then Neji was attacking again, leaving me wide eyed. "He never… What the Hell."

"It's over." The proctor decided finally.

"What… No way! Naruto, you better get your orange ass up!" I watched, exhaling as my friend stood, surprising not only Neji, but the proctor and probably all of the watching people. "Good. I would've had to kick his ass if he gave up so easily."

When Neji explained his hatred, his anger, his determination… I couldn't help but nearly gawk at him. I hadn't known much of the Hyuuga clan, but that… That was more than enough to make me dislike it at the very least.

And the fight didn't stop. Neji launched forward, nailing Naruto yet again in the abdomen. And again, Naruto stood.

"Stubborn little brat, isn't he?" I heard the same men as before snickering.

This time, I whipped out a kunai and placed it at his throat calmly, smiling. "I could always cut your throat out instead, if you prefer?"

"H-hey, boy, calm down."

I blinked, looked at my attire, and frowned. "I'm a girl, you baka."

"Eh?"

I smiled sweetly, angling the kunai. "Now, please, shut up."

When I turned back to the match, you could see Naruto's chakra. I could feel it from the stands, coaxing her to come out almost. I shuddered at the thought.

_'Kyuubi.'_ She hummed, and I could almost see the dark grin. _'Your little friend's grown. I can feel him from here…'_

I could catch their movement only barely until I actually caught up to their speed and even then… The resulting explosion from their clash left me unable to see, and I peered closer, trying to find a way through the uprisen dirt and dust.

Neji climbed out of his hole first, coughing and wiping his mouth. Such power was… Unbelievable, almost. In another moment, Neji was standing over Naruto and we were all just anxious. Again, we all came out shocked when a fist rose from the dirt, slamming a powerful uppercut into Neji.

"No way…" the winner of the match was declared and a hell of a lot of cheering came up. I stared down at them, unmoving, unspeaking for the longest few seconds. "Yatta! Naruto!"

_-They postponed Sasuke's match, waiting for him. Kankuro quit. I don't even know why-but he just dropped out. I haven't seen him fight yet, but I know he uses those puppets. And, anyway, why wouldn't he fight?-_

"That means Shikamaru is next, huh…" I mused, turning away and glancing around. I made my way to Ino and Sakura, pausing when I saw someone flit out of the door. "Damn it." I rushed abruptly up the stairs, both curious and suspicious. "Only ninja move that fast. Not a civilian, not a lord. But why are they in such a hurry?"

I followed as swiftly as possible, finding the person to have stopped right outside. Wary, I raised a brow and stepped forward.

"Oi, are you alright?"

The man spared a brief glance back before smiling at me and nodding, turning away and heading back inside. I stared at the spot he'd just been, swearing there had been another person, and then trailed back inside just in time for…

"Good grief, I give up."

"Nani?

"Why!"

I rushed back to my spot to see Temari in a shadow bind, and my favorite shadowy friend giving up. I stared before twitching at his explanation. Sure, he was a genius and all, but he had no choice? I sighed, bowing my head and shaking the thoughts away.

"Ah, we all knew it was going to happen." I sighed, leaning my weight onto my right leg. And then I realized something. "Ah! Uchiha's match is next! He better not disappoint-after all that training."

I linked my fingers behind my head, turning to see Lee and Gai. I grinned, waving and catching up to them. Both grinned-looking so creepily identical, as always- and I looked to the crutch Lee was using.

"I knew you would turn up eventually, Lee." When we stopped, the time limit was up. Confused and slightly worried, I leaned against the railing. "That teme wouldn't just miss his match."

In a flurry of leaves, two figures appeared in the center of the arena. I sighed, relieved. Of course, I hadn't expected them to just not show up. Kakashi and Sasuke were just… late, as was the silver haired man's style.

Glancing to the side, I caught sight, again, of the black haired man exiting the arena. This time, he had what looked to be a scroll in his hand. I watched, curious, and caught just a glimpse of metal in his pocket.

I struggled with myself before biting my lip and rushing after him, turning around halfway to call back to Sakura. "Oi! Tell me what I miss."

This time, I made no haste in following the man. He wasn't going fast anyway. I watched as he stopped, talking to a Suna nin before handing over the scroll. His head turned just enough for me to catch the Sound headband and they both chuckled.

"Konoha will never see it coming."

"Of course they won't. The Hokage is a stupid old man; I'd be surprised if he even noticed that's not the Kazekage."

"Orochimaru…"

I froze, flicking out a kunai and cursing myself. I had recently gotten used to my butterfly swords, but I hadn't thought I'd need a weapon. I waited until both nin were completely immersed in the topic, raising the kunai and taking a deep breath.

They didn't even see it coming. I was out from my hiding place and throwing the kunai before either could really react. That being said, it imbedded itself in one's arm, and then both noticed me. I was faster than their reflexes, though, and close enough to give a swift kick to the sand nin's chest.

"Tch. And you're what they call ninja. Shouldn't you be more discreet about planning to demolish Konoha?"

"Puny brat, I'll show you a ninja!"

I ducked, ramming my head into his gut as he charged, rearing back quickly enough to slam my elbow into his neck. The Sound ninja fell to the ground, and I turned to the Suna nin with a smirk.

I liked the feeling, I liked how it felt to be so powerful, fast. I clenched and unclenched a fist, waiting. Three shuriken came my way, and I dodged the first one, catching the other two only an inch from my face. I didn't have time to do anything else but block the oncoming punch with my arm, swinging a leg up to push him back.

"I hate kids like you." he commented absently, while I was dropping his shuriken. "Let's see how long this takes me."

He came at me again and again without stopping, and I grimaced, shoving back and trying to retaliate. I jumped back twice, snatching the weights from my wrists and quickly dropping to a crouch to remove them from my ankles as well. I had yet to even try fighting without them, and I already felt a ton lighter.

When I moved, I felt slightly off balance, though I made up for it quickly. Everything moved by in a blur, bringing my knee to his gut and knocking him out with chakra-laced fingertips. I didn't even look back before I was moving toward the stadium, cursing.

Even with my newfound speed, it would take some time. When I did make it to the arena, I was surprised to see the guards gone. Taking it as a bad sign, I rushed up the stairs, nearly falling three times. I froze when I entered, suddenly feeling sluggish.

There were feathers falling, and my eyes wanted very much to close. I struggled to lift a hand, trying to remember what I had read. Genjutsu, dispelling them…

"K-" I raised my hand slowly, though it seemed to way much more than before. "K-Kai." Nothing. I took a deep breath, clenching my eyes shut. "Kai!"

This time, they opened without delay, and I stumbled forward from having sagged against the wall. There was an explosion near where the Hokage was seated, and I looked up hurriedly. Immediately, I launched myself off the rail, landing near Gai and Kakashi.

Both looked to me from their back to back and I looked to find that everyone around us excluding some ninja and Sakura were asleep. "They're-Gaara! Tell me Sasuke's not still down there!"

All of us stopped when one of the Anbu leapt down at us, and four Sound nin followed. I stared in disbelief, frozen to the spot momentarily.

"Destruction of the Leaf Village." I murmured eyes narrowing as I took a step back. "Damn. I need my swords."

I turned to Sakura, frowned, and looked back to Naruto and Shikamaru. I cursed, then let a smirk etch itself onto my face.

"Tch. Sakura, can you wake those lumps up?"

"Mm!"

Behind the enemy nin, I caught sight of the Sand Siblings taking off. Growling, I curled one hand into a fist and jumped onto the ceiling, running forward over their head before flipping down.

"No way am I letting them run off." I snarled, hitting the ground only to take off again, "Not this time."

"Akari!"

"Sorry, Kakashi," I hissed to myself as I followed, "We're playing by my rules."

It wasn't hard to catch up to them, but cutting them off was a bit of a different story. I fell from above into their way, skidding on my heel to face them. All three stopped momentarily before Temari stepped up, smirking.

"No." I snapped at once, cursing myself for not thinking ahead. "All three of you stop here."

"Sorry, we don't have time to play." I cut them off with three kunai, darting back in front of them angrily.

"I'm not playing." I hissed, clutching another kunai in my hand, "I'll kill you if I have to."

There was a tense silence and I gritted my teeth painfully together, running through my options. There was no way I could fight all three of them-Hell, I wouldn't have been able to take Gaara-but…

I was stopped when what seemed to be ninja wire swung itself around me tightly, cutting into my arms. I hissed, wrenching myself away from the pull and struggling in vain. The three were gone when I looked back and three Sand nin had taken their place.

I froze before taking a deep breath. "You three must think you're real tough. Taking everything out on a Genin like this, three against one-how pathetic can you get?"

"Shut up kid, and we might just let you live." The one in the middle, a female by my guess, frowned at me. "If not, well, we'll have to save a special spot for you."

"I'm not scared of you three."

Annoyed, she muttered something about ignorant little brats and pulled her sword back. I grinned, and she swung downward at me. Using my weight against the man holding the wire, I threw myself backward, the sword just cutting through most of it.

The rest I ripped off myself, a voice in the back of my head letting out a dark cackle. The three stared for a minute before lunging, and I had only a second to block them, a kunai making its way across my cheek nonetheless.

I kicked upward, sending one of their heads through the branch above us and then dodging a few fruitless attacks.

"I should've taken those weights off ages ago," I mused aloud, "I can't believe I'm this fast."

I ducked under the arm of the woman, reaching up and wrenching her down, kicking off of her back to send her to the forest floor. When I looked up, the last one was gone. Or, more precisely, trying to surprise me.

And surprise me he did. I ended up face down on the branch, sickle pressed to the back of my neck. I frowned, hand twitching and curling into the bark.

And then, suddenly, the weight was gone and someone was scoffing in front of me. I shoved off the branch and got to my feet, frowning at the Uchiha.

"What are you doing here?"

"Chasing them," I replied with a shrug, "I have… unfinished business."

"Hn. You should go back."

"Don't start with me. We don't have time to argue and you… You can't take Gaara alone anymore." We were already moving again, him just ahead. "He's not just human. He's got this…" I furrowed my brows as I kicked off a tree.

"He's got what?"

"I can't tell you. You might just find out anyway, if we're not lucky."

I looked forward again, shaking my head. We were promptly cut off yet again by a group of Sound nin this time. I blinked and glanced over at him before sliding in front of him with a grin. The five in front of me had their faces covered, but all were glaring.

I glanced over my shoulder and he nodded. "This'll be quick. I'll catch up."

I wasn't surprised to find that it was quick, and I left all five of them back there, feeling bruised and panting, but catching up nonetheless.

Unfortunately, I did not catch up. Instead, I was cut off by a giant ass snake and a ninja. I laughed mirthlessly as my luck, diverging off my path to lose it. When it became obvious I could not, I tried to stop and face it. I was promptly sent flying into a tree.

"Itai. Giant snakes, just my luck. I'm never going to catch up to them like this…" I hissed, shoving the heel of my hand against my eye. Something was wrong. When I opened my eyes, everything was black and white. "What… What the Hell…"

For split second, I almost fell to my knees. For a moment there, I had been in indescribably pain-similar to that of what Itachi put me through. I shivered and looked around anyway, curious.

It was, by the looks of it, Konoha. I looked around in confusion at the lack of people. The Leaf Village was always bustling and happy-even at night there was someone about. That and, it looked like the fight had just stopped-everything had just _stopped._

"It's so cold…" I murmured, looking around.

I started walking until I made it to the gates, something drawing me there. There was a roar, and then a low chuckle from up ahead. Worried, I broke into a sprint, skidding to a stop right at the gates.

I could hear water dripping from a pipe somewhere behind me, though my eyes didn't move. How could they? I was practically paralyzed there, but not completely with fear. It was her-it had to be. I looked higher up to the bright red eyes and sharp white teeth, eyes tracing over the black creature in fascination.

"You… You're a giant wolf." I managed slowly. And I was right; she towered above the trees and the village. "How did I not see you before…"

"I didn't want you to see my before." The voice was low, gravelly, but feminine. "Do you know who I am?"

"Iie."

"Jū-bi no Ookami." she hissed, "I'd prefer Ookami."

"That just means wolf." I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

"My name is far too long for you, piglet. Far too complex for you."

"Oi! That's insulting, you overgrown furball."

I went sent reeling backward when she growled, the force of the burst of annoyance startling. She glared down; lowering her head slightly and baring her teeth as if to say 'mind your tongue'.

"Do you know _what_ I am?" I didn't need to answer, it was obvious I didn't. "Mm, so clueless, little piglet."

Her tail moved, revealing it to be not just one, but ten. Ten long, inky black tails almost leaking from her. I marveled at her for the longest time before slowly, cautiously looking back into her eyes. Ookami.

"I am the ten tailed wolf demon." I couldn't feel my tongue enough to respond, so she continued. "You need me, do you not?"

I was afraid to admit that, yes, outside of there I was dying. Or, going to.

"Then you must leave them."

"Nani?" Startled, I blinked and glared at her. "What does that mean?"

"You must let them go, little piglet. Your friends," I could practically see their faces, "Your family, and your home. Everything you care for."

"But…"

"Death is to be welcomed; not feared. You must leave everything, or I will not help you."

"That makes no sense!" I snapped finally, hands balling themselves into fists. "I…"

"If you are afraid of losing them, of losing yourself-your life-then I cannot help you."

I stared after her as she started padding away from the village, unconsciously crying out for her to wait. Her large black maw turned in my direction, almost grinning.

"Fine. I'll do it."

"Good choice, little one."

The world broke into fire around me, the village burning to the ground when I stepped out of the gates. I spun around to see the screaming faces, the fire dancing through everything.

And then, my eyes opened. I found myself clutching at my head and panting, shaking pitifully. My head throbbed, heart practically in my ears.

At the same time… I could feel something akin to reckless power surging through me, forcing me to my feet. My body barely felt as if it was my own, at the time. When I looked down, I could see a practically black chakra hissing into existence around my hands, burning.

I let out a pained cry at that, knowing very well that it was burning my skin. I didn't move, I just screamed.

When I moved, it wasn't me moving. It was, it was _her_. Ookami. My body leaned precariously forward, waiting and then leaping up onto the snake's nose with a rumble of laughter. The person in the trees came at me,-or was it her? Us?-and within moments, he was back on the ground, neck twisting nastily.

I saw rather felt my own arm move, kunai digging into the snake's eye. The animal let out a shriek, shaking its head wildly. The unrecognizable black chakra moved to the kunai, digging into the beast's head, and I heard my voice let out an insane laugh.

Everything else was mostly a blur, and when I actually started seeing again, I was towering over a group of nin from a tree. I hissed, rearing my hands up to grip at my head.

"Give me back my body, you useless fucking furball." I snarled angrily.

_'And I thought you wanted my help.'_ Ookami taunted, forcing my hands from my head.

"Yeah, help. I didn't want you taking my body-Give it back!"

With that, I fell from the tree, landing on the ground rather painlessly and panting. I clutched at the dirt, groaning. I noticed then that my hands had splashes of blood on them, along with quite a bit of my clothes. Most of it was not my blood.

I shuddered at the thought, shaking my head. No time to dwell on that-I didn't even recognize where I really was. I was willing to bet I was far away from where I had been. Far away from the trail, Sasuke, the Sand Siblings…

"Damn it!" I cursed, bowing my head. "Never again, you overgrown mutt. At least now I know what you want."

I hauled myself achingly to my feet, glancing down to find my arms burned slightly. I frowned, wondering just what she'd done in my absence before walking away.

_'No,'_ she chuckled mirthlessly, _'You will never be able to understand what I want.'_

When I emerged from the forest, it was to a group of nin; both Konoha, and Suna with a few Sound mixed in. I blinked, staggering forward and drawing the remaining two kunai and three shuriken I had. Ookami had definitely used all my weapons, then.

Two of the shuriken met a man's chest; one of the kunai met a woman's throat. The last kunai and shuriken both went into the back of a completely covered figure. I watched as the Konoha nin who had been fighting off two of them turned to me, surprised.

I merely grinned, mapping out where we were in my head. I grimaced, though, seconds later. My breathing had started coming out a lot harsher than before, blood slipping from the corner of my mouth.

Instead of dwelling on it, I made my way around the fight, finding that we were extremely close to my apartment. When I arrived inside, I immediately attacked my butterfly swords to my hips, nodding to myself before leaping out the window.

I let my hands rest on the handles absently when I hit the ground. The two identical swords felt right on my hips and I drew them slowly, watching the light rebound off of them.

"It's impossible for me to catch up to them now. Baka better not do anything stupid." I hissed, turning towards the arena. "I'm going to have to do something, no matter the condition she's left me in."

I let my arms fall behind me as I ran, keeping a tight grip on my weapons. I reached my destination quickly, joining my two teachers with ease.

When I arrived, it was to a battered teen standing stock still, unable to block the five shuriken coming his way. I was in front of him in moments, slashing the weapons away with a sigh.

"Be careful."

I went to lurch forward again, only to cover my mouth in a cough. When I brought my hand away I saw blood, which I ignored dutifully. I scowling, launching myself at a rather large man before he could get any closer.

He looked down at me with a frown and childish kind of curiosity. I lashed upward, causing him to rear back. I dodged a surprisingly badly aimed punch, shifting to the side only slightly.

"You're nothing like the others, are you? Sound or Sand?" He growled and I finally noticed the Sound headband around his abdomen. "Alright, then."

I rammed the handle into the side of his head as he went in for another hit, running the blade along the side of his cheek. He yelped slightly, and surprised me with a kick that sent me into the wall. I fell down to my knees and coughed a few times before standing again.

"Baka." He was already coming toward me as I spoke, and I, on instinct, pushed both swords toward him. He might as well have impaled himself; I didn't even have to move. "He…"

I moved away, pulling the bloodied swords with me. If my partial blackout was any indication; he wasn't the first person I might have killed that day. But it still made me shudder and look away, feeling surprisingly sick to my stomach.

I leaned on the wall heavily for a long moment, frowning. I wasn't all too low on chakra after Ookami's visit, but I definitely wasn't doing too well physically.

"Akari-watch out!" I barely ducked in time to avoid the kunai aimed for my head. I stared at the ground for a long moment before straightening to face the silver haired ninja. "What are you doing here?"

"I…" I grimaced, "I can explain later. We have to try and drive them back, ne?"

"You're injured." He pointed out, and I grinned.

"Nothing I can't handle."

He looked disbelieving, even as I stood and made my way closer. I glanced around cautiously, finding less enemies than I would have expected. They must have cleared a lot of them out, then. Or, maybe I looked too soon. Two nin leapt up from below, and I watched them with a frown.

I went through the hand seals rather roughly, not caring how sloppy it looked at the moment. "Fire Style; Pheonix Ashes!"

The fire came bursting out of my mouth without me even thinking about it, taking the form of a phoenix and slamming into them. I staggered backwards slightly, feeling very accomplished.

"Ah, that went well." I commented lightly, sighing.

"What do you mean?"

"It's the first time I've tried using that that it's worked. Last time I caught Neji on fire." I received a wary look in response. "Hey, you try making a jutsu at my age-it's not easy. Besides; it worked well enough."

I grimaced, taking a look around again. The area was still full of sleeping people and a few ninja. Most of them looked well worn out. I became reluctant to actually say anything…

"There are giant snakes outside." I blurted out finally. "One of them almost ate me."

And it was probably dead, too. I sucked in a breath, sheathing the fallen swords without looking at the blood-smeared silver.

I grimaced, turning to face my two teachers. My head throbbed again, black lining the edge of my vision, and I rubbed the heel of my hand in my eye, producing spots in my vision. The throbbing stopped and I removed my hand, blinking a few times.

I stepped forward enough to see that the two had fallen before turning around, startled. I had killed people. It wouldn't be the last time, I knew, but that didn't mean I enjoyed it.

I leaned forward heavily, groaning. I felt sick, as if the contents of my stomach were all battling to get out first. So I bent over, braced myself on my knees, and retched up everything I had eaten, and everything I had not.

I gasped in a few breaths, shuddered, and collapsed.

_-Author's Note, for the cold hard facts-_

_Aa, just a warning; The little notes she makes to herself will not always have to do with the upcoming scene._

_Mm, I got a bit stuck on this chapter, and the next won't come out until I've watched more of the anime, read more of the manga. I'll go as fast as possible, but no guarantees.  
><em>

_R&R  
><em>


	8. I'm not scared of you

_-If I never wake up in the hospital again, it'll be too soon. I need to go home as well; they kept this secret from me for so long, and I need to know why.-_

"Do you think she'll be awake today? I mean, it's only been a couple of days, but…"

"I don't know."

"You don't-how do you not know!"

"The burns aren't from any jutsu, and her injuries... It doesn't make any sense, Kaida."

"Nothing," the second person snapped finally, "ever makes sense when we see this girl in the hospital!" there was another pause, "She's just a kid, Haru. She's just a kid and look at the things she's been in here for. Unidentifiable jutsu and burns."

"I know." Haru, I assumed, answered slowly. "We're going to need to ask around to see who saw her during the battle. Someone has to know what happened to her."

There was a snort, "The same person who knows why the Sand fell into Orochimaru's clutches."

The voices faded, and I figured the two had left my room. I pulled my too-heavy body into a sitting position, noting that I was still in my usual clothes. Frowning, I pushed myself to my feet, pausing to yank some needle from my arm stagger to the window.

In the process, I found my lower arms bandaged, as well as everything from the knee down.

"Oh boy." I murmured, sick to my stomach, "This might hurt."

I opened the window cautiously before dropping out of it, hitting the ground on my heels and hissing. I stumbled in my first few steps, clenching and unclenching my fists experimentally before nodding once and heading toward the gates. IT was still really early, so I could probably catch the three idiots-if they were let go.

The Sand Siblings had to be in the village if I was still alive and in the hospital. It wouldn't make two bits of sense if they had escaped. Which left me to wonder…

Who has beaten them?

I made it to the gates first, collapsing on the ground and leaning my head back again the wood. A guard stared at me suspiciously, and I waved listlessly. He almost made an effort to approach, would have, but the sound of footsteps interrupted any progress.

"Weren't you in the hospital?" I looked over to see the Sand Siblings, and Kankuro leaned down to raise a brow curiously at me.

"Supposed to be." I corrected slowly, "But, I couldn't just let you three leave. And you weren't even planning to say goodbye."

"You threatened to kill us!" Kankuro blurted out, shaking his head as he straightened.

"I just…" I paused, pushing myself to my feet with a smile. "My name is Akari." I sighed finally. "If nobody told you."

Temari blinked and then ruffled my hair teasingly, causing me to chuckle. Kankuro scowled, muttering something under his breath. I gave myself a thoughtful moment, ignoring the returning ache to my body. I looked to Gaara next to find him giving me a look that was only half a glare.

"Don't trust her." He deadpanned finally, stepping past me. I froze, eyes wide, "She's… disturbed and volatile. She'll kill you without a moment's hesitation."

The wind blew by us then, and my shiver had nothing to do with it. I gave the three one last goodbye as their sensei approached. The glare he gave me told me that I was not a well-liked person in his books.

"Huh," I murmured as I turned away, "I wonder just what I ever did to him."

I was already heading toward the hospital when a man in white caught me from behind, holding my arms behind my back and shaking his head.

"Always so uncooperative. Every time we bring you in, you sneak out." He groused as we entered my room, letting go of me to look me in the eye. "Look, kid, you can't leave this room. Your condition… Isn't exactly stable."

"I know." I dismissed, pushing myself back onto the bed. "I had business to take care of. Don't worry, I'll be here."

As disbelieving as he looked, he left me there. I rubbed my temple, dropping the forced smile. He had a point, my body was aching. I let one of the medic nin take my arm and shove needle into it before sliding something through my veins. Whatever it was, I could feel the cool chemical as it went up to my neck, circulating through my body slowly.

She glanced up at me cautiously before unwrapping the bandages on my arms, taking care not to touch my skin. The damage was surprising, and I wondered how in the Hell I was able to move my hands and arms so well. With luck it wouldn't scar all that badly, though I didn't much care.

The burns were worse at my fingertips and hand, and then heading up to my elbows. I looked away as she did the same to my legs, running green hands over the injuries. I growled at the feel, it hurt more than I supposed it would.

I didn't look when she rewrapped my arms and legs, and when she was done I had a question for myself. Why did I let her do that to me?

Why did I let a demon, Ookami, do that to me?

_-It's all over, isn't it? The Leaf is in ruins, the people and much of the village itself.-_

Rain bombarded the area, the black clad nin and civilians all staring ahead of them. A coffin. I blinked the rain from my eyes, forcing myself not to look away. Forcing myself not to cry. Somewhere beside me Sasuke was staring as well, more stoic than usual. Sakura was off beside him, Kakashi and Naruto to my right.

I stepped backward, shoulder brushing Sasuke's as I turned away. I didn't spare him a glance, hunching forward and walking away from the funeral. I couldn't look at it. I couldn't look at them.

"Tell me," I started quietly, the words hardly reaching my ears over the rain. "Could you have stopped this?"

There was a long silence, stretching out like the road before me until Ookami spoke. _'No.'_

I didn't say anything for a while, pulling off the robe as I reached my apartment door and wondering how I got there. I could've sworn I was heading to the training grounds. I shrugged the thoughts off, shaking my head as I dropped the wet robe to the floor.

"Something bad is coming, something worse than this."

_-Naruto is getting the new Hokage. A sanin. Ino has been surprisingly civil, and Sakura has become a good friend in a short amount of time. Odd, I see Sasuke around even less than usual, though.-_

"Akari," Ino started tentatively, crossing her arms above me. I looked up with a slight smile, already rewrapping my arms and legs. "Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot." I shrugged, finishing with a tug and leaning back on my hands. The blonde looked thoughtful, almost annoyed in her stance.

"Do you like Sasuke-kun?"

One of my hands chose that moment to slip, sending me on my back in the dirt. The question shocked me, and I had to debate the answer in my head. I liked Sasuke Uchiha. At the same time, it would be a great pleasure to beat his face into the dirt. I furrowed my brows, not moving, and blinked a few times.

Did I really like Sasuke?

"You're always seen together." Ino continued, oblivious to me as I sat up again and crossed my legs. "And he… He _talks_ to you."

"Of course I don't like him," I interrupted finally, white eyes rolling at the prospect. The thought still attacked the back of my thoughts, though, simmering.

"Why?" She demanded, light blue eyed exasperated. "Everyone likes Sasuke."

Now that was one question, I didn't have to think about.

"He never shuts up about revenge."

_"I guess having a purpose is what makes you so strong…" The black haired girl glanced over at her companion, sad. "You'll do it one day, Sasuke. But, you'll regret it."_

"He's such a jerk-especially to Naruto."

_"Your relationship might not be the happiest, the nicest... But, it's about so much more than that. Wits, and guts, and so many other things-even if you deny it, Uchiha."_

"And he constantly calls me infuriating."

_"I am though, but you're a bastard." Akari grinned at the slightly older teen, settling into step beside him again, "We balance each other out."_

Ino pulled a face, eyes rolling. She muttered something incoherently, and then opened her mouth again. Fortunately, we were interrupted by the arrival of aforementioned raven haired male. Cocky as ever, Sasuke strode up and eyed me in annoyance. Or maybe not just annoyance-not that I could identify the other emotion.

"You're late, Kakashi-sensei must be rubbing off on you."

"Hn."

Ino had gone when I looked back, leaving me surprised. Hadn't she always tried to hug him? Hadn't she loved him since they were kids?  
><em>'Things change, piglet.'<em>

"Hey, Sasuke…" I started slowly, white gaze falling on the sky. I didn't move from my spot as he grunted in response.

"Why do you talk to me?"

"Hn."

"Don't do that." I hissed, "Don't answer with words that aren't even words! Why do you talk to me?"

_"Hn."_

I tackled him then, sending us rolling and rolling, down the hill behind him and to the edge of the river. II landed on top, struggling to keep my heavier companion down. His shoulders lifted and I shoved hard, though he still flipped us. My shoulder collided solidly with the ground, and I blinked to rid myself of the disorientation.

The lone Uchiha straddled me, using his greater weight to keep me pinned to the grass.

We glared at each other for a long time before I realized how close we were, and even then I didn't move. Instead I kept glaring, cheeks going red with anger and embarrassment.

"I don't know." He admitted finally, scowling.

"I think…" I panted, scowl diminishing to a frown. "I do." He scoffed, and I continued.

"You're lonely. And you can't talk to Naruto-he's your rival. Sakura is a fangirl. You think Kakashi expects more than he does. Everyone else in insignificant. And me… I was never really part of the plan. I was never important enough to ignore, but not so unimportant that I wasn't going to be acknowledged."

"You're infuriating."

"I know."

He rocked off of me to crouch on his heels, crushed charcoal eyes frowning where his lips weren't. I sat up slowly, testing my sore limbs with a slight nod.

"You're fat." I muttered teasingly.

"Tch."

We sat there for a while, listening to the river and staring at the sky. Or I was, at least. Sasuke seemed to be thinking again. I would interject every now and again with something to say before the two of us lapsed into silence again. But it wasn't bad, it was comfortable.

I opened my mouth to speak again, looking down from the clouds to find Sharingan eyes staring back at me. I flinched visibly, unable to tear my eyes away from the bloody red ones.

Those eyes…

I closed my own eyes instinctively, one hand fisting itself against the dirt.

"You're scared of me."

For a moment, the voice didn't sound like Sasuke's. It was deeper, darker, calmer-not that his was calm, it was just so unnaturally calm for the teen. I didn't move, forcing deep breaths in and out.

I didn't answer for the longest time until he sighed, and I made myself open my eyes. His own were turned away Sharingan still active, though at least not facing me.

"Those eyes scare me," I whispered finally, "And that… thing on your neck. But you… I'm not scared of you."

The scowling teen still looked away from me, disbelieving, and I sighed to myself. I reached forward, placed my hands on either side of his face and made him look at me. Sasuke's eyes widened only a fraction, and I widened my own for emphasis.

"Stop acting like it's you I'm scared of, okay?"

_-Author's Note, for the cold hard facts-_

_Finally, right.  
>Sorry for the wait.<em>

_Reading the manga, so that's what I'm following.  
><em>

_Also;_

_Itachi.  
>Comes to kidnap you,<br>knocks politely on the door and asks you to come with him.  
><em>

_R&R  
><em>


	9. I hope it torments you

_-Sasuke isn't waking up. Not that I_ care _or anything, it's just a bit weird to see him so…placid. Okay, so maybe I care _just a little_.-_

I tilted my head back against the wall, taking comfort in the darkness of the back of my eyelids. I had overheard the doctors not an hour ago, and by just the description I knew what had happened. That man. That man and his Sharingan and that endless nightmare.

"I hate him."

One of my hands clenched into a fist, head falling forward so that my hair hid my face. And it was true. I hated Itachi Uchiha more than I hated anyone. My head snapped up when the hospital door opened, hand instinctively coming to my kunai pouch. Sakura didn't seem to notice me, though, placing flowers beside the lone Uchiha's bed and frowning down at him.

"It isn't fair, Akari-chan."

I looked back up at her from behind my bangs, frowning. "Nothing is ever fair, Sakura."

"It always has been for me. Always."

"Not anymore." I straightened and forced myself to relax, looking to the window. "When you become a ninja, you give up the right to fairness. People will degrade you, even as you save their lives. Is that fair?" The pinkette didn't despond, and I continued. "Your friends and family will die in front of you. Is that fair? A ninja must be ready to lose everything because a ninja is a tool. We are tools to be used until we are broken and useless, and then we get thrown away!"

I hadn't noticed my voice getting louder, but it had grown from a harsh whisper to a snarl and then a shout.

"Is that fair?"

Both of us went silent again and I glanced at the unconscious raven-haired teen on the bed. He looked peaceful, for being trapped in a nightmare. What was he reliving? The attack that had brought him to that state? The massacre? Or something else?

"I'm sorry." I sighed finally, looking back to the emerald eyed girl with a small smile. "I'm just stressed is all. I've been here for three days, just in case."

"Does that mean…"

"No. No. I just…" I looked to the ground with a shake of my head. I could still see those eyes. Every time I closed my eyes, every time I slept… "I'm not taking the chance. It would be ridiculous for him to come here, but I can't risk that."

I had a feeling Sakura understood what I meant. It was only a third about protecting Sasuke. It was about protecting me.

"When was the last time you slept?" Sakura asked finally, frowning up at me.

My eyebrows knitted thoughtfully and I shrugged. "A while ago. I haven't been able to sleep."

I didn't mention why. It was only partly because of the nightmares and paranoia. The other part came along because I had woken up at the training ground instead of in my bed a few weeks back. Ookami was definitely not one for resting.

Silence prevailed once again as we shifted awkwardly, neither of us sure where to go from there. Outside, though, the village was teeming with work and rebuilding, talking and laughing, and thankfulness. And hope.

Just the word made my mind wander to Naruto, and my hands curled into fists against the fabric of my shorts. He had been with Sasuke. What had happened?

"They're back!" my head snapped to the side to see a chunin panting in the doorway, half bent over himself. "I was told…"

I didn't catch what he said, though, already vaulting out the window and stumbling into a mad dash for the village gates. I stopped mid-step, instinctively turning to look to my right. There, under the Hokage faces and heading down, was a group of adults and one jumping teen.

Naruto.

I broke into a run again, hardly looking through my dark bangs as I vaulted over a railing and hit the ground hard, keeping a nearly steady pace. I rammed into the back of a Chunin vest before I could make it to my blond friend, causing us both to roll to the ground.

I was up first, giving a hasty apology and starting up again. I caught a mutter of 'troublesome' just before I was out a range, and that alone made me break into a grin.

The second person I slammed into was on purpose, and I wrapped my arms around the torso of a familiar black and orange jacket.

"You ass!" I snapped at my blue eyed friend tersely, "You didn't even tell me you were leaving! What kind of jerk just up and leaves!"

"E-eh, Akari-chan…" The blonde turned to face me as I let him go, rubbing an apparently sore rib. "I think you bruised me again…"

"Ah, gomen. I just…" I brushed my hair away from my face with a small smile, "It's been lonely just sitting in Uchiha's room. He doesn't even retaliate anymore."

"Ah-Sasuke! He hasn't woken up yet?"

"No-" I looked up with a frown to our other companions, pausing and taking them in before blinking multiple times and bowing. "Gomennesai. I interrupted." I eyed the man and woman for a moment longer, straightening after a moment. "You're Tsunade-sama. And Jaraiya-sama."

"Tch. At least she shows some respect for great ninja." the large, white haired Nin boasted, puffing out his chest.

Tsunade on the other hand, seemed to be a tad suspicious. I smiled lightly, "My okaa-san told me stories about you guys. Said you three were the greatest… and then…" I shrugged, stretching my arms behind my back and sighing.

"Akari." I introduced finally, holding out a gloved hand.

"It's going to be a pain memorizing all these names…"

_-He woke up today, and it's weird. I've been avoiding him, in a way. I don't want to see him. I don't want to know.-_

"She cried, didn't she?" I sighed with a roll of my eyes from the doorway.

The Uchiha's glare deepened, eyes taking in my appearance. I had forgotten my usual attire had changed during his kind-of absence. My ninja sandals wet up to my knees, pale legs paired along with a pair of mid-thigh black shorts. I had acquired a jacket as well, long; gunmetal colored that met the back of my ankles. My shirt went to my elbows, showing off a bit of midriff-though, that hadn't been a part of the plan.

I stepped forward a few steps, stopping in front of the standing Uchiha and curling one hand into a fist. I shoved the raven-haired boy back, scowling at him. He returned the look, gripping on of my wrists. Partly because it was instinct and partly because the bastard deserved it, I socked him in the face.

"You made her cry twice in two days-just so you could feel like you were worth something?" I snarled, scowling at the teen. I wished I had hit him harder, seeing as he had only stumbled back a few steps. "So you could fight Naruto because you can't handle the fact that he's getting stronger? Because you," I stepped forward to jab a finger into his chest, "Have a superiority complex?"

"Why…" I stopped, hanging my head and frowning, "Why don't you ever know when to just stop?"

Sasuke made a condescending noise, eyes rolling as he turned away from me. I tackled him, sending us sprawled on the ground. I pushed his face against the hospital floor, struggling to keep him pinned under my weight.

"No." I ground out, "You are going to talk to me."

"Why would I want to talk to an infuriating brat like you?" the onyx eyed boy below me replied, one hand coming back to grip my wrist, the other braced on the floor.

I found myself on my back on the ground, aiming a kick at my friend-were we even friends?-as he rolled toward me. "Because I get it!" I snapped, "But I don't get you, and you can't just not talk to me."

Black bangs brushed my cheeks, black eyes glaring into my own. Had we not been ninja, who we were in general, I would have gotten he vague reminded of cliché kisses. Instead, I got a reminder of hatred. Because that was nearly what reached his eyes then. Noticing that made me freeze, hand gripping his shoulders to shove him off, eye widened slightly, frozen against the floor.

"Sasuke…" I started cautiously, blinking to rid myself of all thought. "You can't pretend there's nothing wrong with all of this."

"All of what, Akari?" He sneered above me, leaning farther down. "Wrong-"

And I did the only thing I could think to do to shut him up. I yanked him down and kissed him. It wasn't like a fairytale kiss, or even really a kiss. I shoved him away two seconds later, scrambling to a crouch to roll my eyes at him.

"Just keep pretending." I muttered; face red, as I got to my feet. "I'll be waiting when you get a reality check."

_-Gone. Just gone and nobody says a thing, like it doesn't matter. And Shikamaru took a team, deliberately leaving me out of the mix. Why? I know I'm strong enough to handle myself, wouldn't I have been some kind of help?-_

I stalked forward, sheathing both swords on my hips with a twirl of them around my hands, a bag already hitched over one shoulder. It had become habit to always have a bag packed, for emergencies.

"You're a liability in this mission." Ino stated from beside me, half jogging o keep up with my too-fast walk. "With how close you are to Sasuke, you could-"

"Naruto's close to him." I interjected hotly.

"But he doesn't love him. Besides, they would kill each other just for kicks."

And then it registered… "Love!"

"It's pretty obvious-hey! Come back here, I wasn't…"

Ino's voice drifted out of my range as I darted forward, through the gates past two men. Nothing suspicious about that. I had a feeling the Hokage would know in about ten minutes that I was gone. I didn't care.

I rushed through the trees, purposely avoiding the path my comrades had taken in favor of avoiding them. It would take a bit longer, but I could catch up. I could get to him. I wish I had gone on their path. I could have prevented so much… But I didn't.

My path ended up very roundabout, ending up with me nearly falling off a cliff when I slid on the grass, sight impaired in the rain. I skidded onto my knees, well aware of the fact I had passed the border and might be going a bit too far.

I stopped, finally, one hand braced against the ground. I hadn't encountered enemies, pursuers. Nothing. Which meant…? What?

"Hn." I blinked, lifting my head and shoving myself to my feet. "What are you doing out here, you idiot?"

"Well," I sighed, brushing myself off and turning to face my comrade. "I assumed I was kicking your ass and dragging you back home."

Silence drenched over the area like the rain and a ghost of a smile met my lips.

"But I'm not even in my own territory anymore." I slid my blades out of their sheaths slowly, the single noise ringing through the area. "This sucks."

"…" I glanced at my comrade-or was it former comrade, now?-and sighed.

"I'll lose." I stated bluntly, tilting my weapons just so that the rain would slide noiselessly to the ground. "I have no chance if I don't use…" I didn't finish, sighing. "And that would just be a stupid move."

"Tell me why."

I blinked in confusion, shifting my weight to one hip, raising a brow in question. We both knew that, either way, I was buying time. Time for myself. Time to figure something out. Time to wait for reinforcements that weren't coming. I needed time.

Sasuke scowled, indicating I already knew the question. "Guess you could say I'm foolish. I mean, even Sakura couldn't convince you. You have to have beaten Naruto now…" I paused, stepping forward, and he stiffened in response. "Ino thinks it's because I love you." I shrugged, amused, "I don't know. Maybe. I just know I have to get you back to Konoha."

"Why?" He snarled finally, black eyes in slits.

"Because… I care."

I had to jump back to avoid a flurry of kunai, shocked to find that they hadn't come from my raven haired companion. A flash of silver to the right caught my attention and I cursed, slicing through the air twice to cut away at two needles.

Needles… Who did I know that used needles? Grass Nin, for one. And medic Nin. I didn't recognize the bespectacled, silver haired ninja before us. He looked older than me by a few years, but he could easily pass off for my age if he wanted. As well… There was something familiar about him. Something Naruto had said about his mission to find Tsunade…

He sighed, pushed his glasses up his nose, and strode toward me. "I thought you would interfere. I just didn't expect you so late in the game."

"Tch." I wielded my weapons expertly, eyes narrowed in annoyance. "I suppose right now I should ask how you know me."

"You're Akari Rai. Genin in the Leaf, though you're from a small town near the mist. You possess-"

"Enough." I growled, sliding into an aggressive stance. "This is all irrelevant. I have better things to do than listen to you babble."

I ducked forward, past my favorite and least favorite Uchiha, slicing at my enemy with a scowl. The man dodged, looking slightly amused, and flung more needles at one. One lodged itself in my shoulder, and I immediately knew why he didn't seem to care about the others. Poison.

I ripped the needle out immediately, opening my mouth and holding the metal edge of both swords between my teeth while my hands went into seals. Tiger, ox…

"Suiton : Liquid Dream!"

From somewhere to our right-thank God-a large wave of water flew in, encompassing us and dragging all of us under. I managed to suck in a breath, watching as water-made people slid past, each murmuring and dancing forward. I slid my sword away again, preoccupied with locating everything.

A spear of water flew by my ear, directing itself toward my enemy. I pushed off the ground, straining with the chakra needed to keep the outer edge of the water frozen, keeping us all here. I opened my mouth, watching as bubbles of air escaped and floated upward. Not that there was any air up there, either.

I swam forward and up, toward a rather pissed looking Uchiha and his medic companion. Neither had any trouble with my pawns, but they weren't intended to. This was like a prison, nearly inescapable. I grimaced at the lack of air, wondering how long it would take for one of them to pass out.

I made a sideways cutting motion through the air; feeling accomplished, and flipped both males off. I then proceeded backward, kicking with my feet and thinking about the things I had carried with me that were then rendered useless by the water.

I looked away and, when I glanced back, both were gone. I cursed mentally, only just reaching for my butterfly sword when something propelled me forward from behind. All the air was knocked out of me then, and a crack formed in the outer layer of ice from the sudden drop and return of chakra.

That was it. I had no air, and I wasn't going to be able to hold my tank of water forever. I did the only thing I could think to do, shot myself toward the bottom and placed my palms on the ice.

I glanced toward the silver haired Nin, rather annoyed to see Sasuke nowhere in sight, and immediately dropped all my chakra from that area.

Caught off guard, he hit the ground on his back. I followed, releasing all of my chakra at the same time. I hit the ground in front of him, managing to beat him backward instead of letting him get to me.

"Okay, so that didn't go as planned."

"This is a useless plight." He scoffed, nailing me in the gut and sending me sprawled on my back. "You're an idiot for even coming out here, Akari-chan." I hissed in pain as he slammed a foot into my abdomen, planting it there firmly. "I should just end this now."

"Don't…" I reached up, latching onto his ankle and yanking, "Underestimate me!"

"All my life," I slammed the other teen into the ground, rolling over to pound a fist into his face before stumbling away from a needle. I grabbed both swords then, staring at them for a long moment. I pushed my chakra outward, the near black, poisonous looking chakra surrounding my blades. "I've both been underestimated and assumed a child…"

I lashed out, managing to slice through my enemy's clothes. "Or I've been a monster." I sliced at my own wrist and ankles, releasing the weights with a solid 'thud!' "I've been called a demon child and people have attempted to kill me!" I head butted him, blades burning his skin and slashing into his arms.

"And when I finally get somewhere I could be, somewhere I could live…" I stopped, sucking in deep breaths. "This happens."

My vision darkened and flickered, panic reached at me through the Gates of Konoha. Of course, that was inside my head. A fist met my face, sending me backwards and into a rather large tree. Blood slid from the corner of my mouth and I looked up blearily, frowning.

Sasuke cracked his knuckles experimentally, and I smiled sadly.

"I was wrong, you know." I managed, standing slowly. "It's not just him anymore. It's… you. It's those eyes." Black eyes narrowed at me and I smirked. "You're not even Sasuke anymore. Not fit to carry the Uchiha name, either."

A kick sent me back again, and I latched onto the leg, firing off curses and insults while slashing and attempting to get a hit in. It was fairly reminiscent of my first meeting Itachi. Well, I was less helpless ad doing better at least.

I found myself, similarly, on my side and trying to curl away.

"You're an infuriating child. Go home."

"Kill me."

"I'm done playing games-"

"Then kill me." I snarled, trying to breath. "You're a badass, murdering follower of Orochimaru now. Right? So kill me." More silence, the other one shifting in the background.

"All of us… Went through this trouble, risked our lives for you…"

"And?"

"We all just want you to come back. Some of us are probably dead."

"Good for them."

"You're just like him." I coughed, laughing. "You and your brother, Sasuke… You're exactly alike. How did I not see it-?"

A kick to the side sent me into a hiss of pain, cutting off my sentence. I flinched, hands curling toward my stomach slowly. Both hidden from his view, I made my seals as slowly as possibly. Rat… Boar…

"Katon : Wild Fire!"

A blaze of fire erupted from my fingertips, effectively burning my hands. The fire rapidly consumed the tree to my right, more slowly consuming everything else. It was guaranteed to start a larger scale fire, I noted, as Sasuke was forced to leave me.

"You're an idiot, Sasuke," I groused, standing slowly and leaning most of my eight to my left hip. "Do you even know what he wants from you?"

"…I don't care." He smirked and I recoiled, shocked. "I need-"

"Power?" I scoffed, feeling bold, "Revenge? Either one of those is going to destroy you. You won't even get your revenge by the time he wants you as a container. You'll be an object, sucked into his clutches. And your brother will live. I really hope that torments you for the rest of your life."

_-Author's Note, for the cold hard facts-_

_Long and fast-paced. Meh. The time skip is coming the chapter after next._

_Edited on 9-30-11._

_R&R_


	10. Helpful to Each Other

_-I feel extremely lost. A bit like I'm not myself. I just go through the motions sometimes, forgetting whole days. I'm beginning… To believe Ino.-_

"Sakura, how's your training with Tsunade-sama going?"

"Great!" The pinkette chirped happily as we walked along. I was just a little jealous of her, in truth, knowing just what she was obviously heading toward. She would be great. "I've been doing so well…" Emerald eyes softened as my friend looked up to me as I fingered my growing hair. "We're going to get him back, you know."

"Iie." I sighed, tilting my head to the sky and looking at her from the corner of my eyes, "You and Naruto are going to get him back."

"Nani? Akari, what-"

"Ah! Shit, I'm late. I'll see you later, Sakura, Neji'll kill me if I don't get there soon."

I waved back at Sakura, making my way quickly toward the training grounds. It was true, really. I was late to training… Again. Lee and Neji had been nearly overdoing it lately, Tenten as well, and I was partially there to make sure nobody injured themselves.

"Guys-stop!" the brunette snapped at her teammates, both teens glaring at each other. I ran a hand through my hair, noting that it would soon go past my shoulders. I waved mildly at them, watching as the two males only barely looked to me. "They've being going at it since we got here."

It wasn't surprising. Both boys were friends-just had an odd way of showing it-but they had seemed so strained lately. I wasn't sure why, but I had a feeling it would last longer than their usual spats. (Lover's spats, I had decided called them in a teasing manner.)

"You two," I sighed, crossing my arms, "Are worse than…" I trailed off, furrowed my brow, and cleared my throat. My throat burned, and it quickly became obvious I wouldn't be finishing that sentence the way I had intended. With 'Naruto and Sasuke'. "Two starving wolves."

I heard a sigh and mutter of 'troublesome' from behind me. On instinct, I whipped around. Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji stared at us. I blinked and forced a pained grin onto my features, one that quickly grew to be almost completely real.

"Looks like everyone wants to train here today."

I ran a hand through my hair, one hands resting on my hip. I missed the feel of the headband I had there at one point. After my 'reckless' and 'idiotic' disobeying of orders to stay in Konoha, I was temporarily taken off Genin status. Or, so I told everyone.

_-Approx. 30 hours earlier-_

_"You reckless," I slid to the other side of the room, narrowly avoiding a flying stack of papers. The documents glided through the air to settle across the room. "Idiotic! Ignorant!" This time I avoided what looked to be a stapler, the object sticking into the wall beside my head. "Naive child!"_

_My heart beat frantically, telling my body to move move move and get the fuck out of there. Instead, I stayed plastered to the wall, white eyes wide, hands grasping in vain for purchase on the wall. Tsunade-sama lifted her sake bottle above her head, clearly about to attempt and send the bottle through my skull._

_I barely ducked in time, finding myself face down on the floor. I couldn't make out the angry, annoyed snarls from the Hokage, and definitely didn't have any want to._

_"Get up." I did just that, dark hair whipping around me in disorder as I rose to my feet. "You understand that I will have to revoke your status as ninja until further notice."_

_"I..." I wasn't surprised, or even shocked. Instead, I was relieved. "I would like to take leave from Konoha." I informed her finally, "I would've gone even if you weren't suspending me from ninja duty, Hokage-sama."_

_-And back-_

My eyes widened and I looked to the laziest of the three, grinning. "Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro left okay, I presume?"

"I still don't know how you can like those-"

"Ino." I warned, watching as the blonde rolled her eyes. "They are not freaks."

The training session was comprised of bickering and laughing, sparring and threatening and fighting and smiles. I felt a bit bad, actually, sitting there like I wasn't planning anything. It went well, though, and when it was dark I headed for the gates with a bag over my shoulder.

"Sakura…" I blinked in surprise at the pinkette sitting on the bench, confused. "What are you doing here?" She shot up, obviously not expecting me, and surveyed me carefully. It was painfully obvious what she suspected and I laughed, clasping both of her shoulders. "Stop looking at me like that."

"You're leaving." She said bluntly, frowning.

"For a bit, yeah…"

"Is that what you opted to revoke your status as a ninja?"

I paused, smiled, and chuckled. "You found me out. I have to go home, Sakura. I've been away for so long, and I haven't wrote-and they stopped replying anyway-and things are complicated." At her dejected look, I rolled my eyes. "But I will be back."

_-Dead. And I know who killed them, too. Well, actually, they went 'missing' but I know they're dead.-_

"Thank you, for this. I mean… This information." I sighed to my former neighbor, frowning. So, I'd come all that way for nothing. "I think I'll just go inside."

"You've grown." Mrs. Nagasaki interrupted, smiling at me. "It hasn't even been too long, though… May I ask a question?"

"Hai." I blinked in surprise, facing her again.

"Why aren't you so sad? The girl I know would have cried."

"Hn." The noise still sounded foreign, even when produced by accident. "I've done so much while I was away. This seems very small in comparison… Actually, I rather suspected it."

I walked inside without looking back again, running my fingertips over the dusty surfaces with a frown. I knew that, without even knowing me anymore, the older woman would be confused. Disgruntled. Maybe even slightly disgusted by my attitude toward the death of my only family.

Somehow, after all the secrets, I still found my chest aching in the loneliness.

"Okaa-chan. Otou-chan." I hissed to the room, gripping the wooden railing to my right and denting it, fingernails leaving crescent moons. "They won't get away with this."

"Now, now, Akari-chan…" I ducked forward, dropping into a roll instinctively and drawing a sword. "Don't be so hasty."

"Who the Hell-" There was a tall, pale man standing against the wall. I froze when I noticed the character at his right side, suddenly cautious and stiff. Silver hair, glasses, needles between his fingers. "You."

"I really wish we could have met under better circumstances," he said kindly, smiling, "I'm Kabuto."

"We're so sorry about your family," The paler man smiled, elongated tongue sliding over his lips. His hair was darker than ink, long. Eyes slits and very much reminiscent of snakes. I knew who he was without even asking after looking him over.

"Orochimaru."

"You see," I shouldn't have looked at him, shouldn't have hesitated. Because, with his words, I was lost. "I think we could both help each other…"

_-Author's Note, for the cold hard facts-_

_Next chapter takes place after the time skip. And yes, all will be explained...  
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_R&R  
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